Price Chopper to Buy 6 P&C Stores

MARK HAMSTRA

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — Price Chopper here has agreed to acquire six P&C supermarkets from Tops Friendly Markets, Tops said Thursday.

The purchase price is $14 million, a Price Chopper spokeswoman told SN. The transaction is expected to close in 30 days, after which the stores will be converted to the Price Chopper banner. The stores include five in the upstate New York towns of Canton, Gouverneur, Massena, Potsdam and West Carthage and one in Lincoln, N.H.

“As part of our initial evaluation of all Penn Traffic locations, it was determined these stores were on the outer edge of our geographic footprint and would best be served by another retailer with more familiarity with those markets,” said Frank Curci, Tops’ president and chief executive officer.

During the bankruptcy of former P&C parent company Penn Traffic, Price Chopper had bid $54 million for 22 of Penn Traffic’s P&C locations, but the bankruptcy court ruled in favor of Tops' $85 million offer for the entire network of Penn Traffic's locations.

Last month, Tops unveiled plans to close four of the stores it acquired from Penn Traffic, including one P&C Foods location each in Hornell, N.Y., and Bradford, Vt., and one BiLo store each in Clarion and Blairsville, Pa.

Curci previously told SN that an undetermined number of the 79 acquired Penn Traffic locations would be closed or sold, but that most would remain open.

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