SAN FRANCISCO — DeLano's IGA Markets, an eight-store chain here operated by a veteran industry executive, may be close to shuttering some or all of its stores, according to published reports here.
Harley DeLano, the co-owner, could not be reached for comment. The San Francisco Chronicle reported he was working with his company's creditors to determine how to proceed.
Stores range from 8,900 to 23,000 square feet. When DeLano acquired 12 former Cala Foods and Bell Markets from Kroger Co. in 2006, he kept the original banners on the stores because of the equity they had in the Bay Area, with the intention of operating each one differently to fit the area it served.
However, DeLano later converted the eight surviving stores to the IGA banner, he told SN, because of the brand identity it gave them, IGA's training programs and its national marketing events.
DeLano spent most of his career in Southern California, running a group of independent stores called ABC Markets. He became president of Kroger's Northern California division in 1990, which included the Cala and Bell stores, and retired in 1999. He formed DeLano Retail Partners with his son, Dennis, when he acquired the stores in 2006.
