Ethnic Retailer Seabra Foods in Bid for Orlando Lucky's

An affiliate of international grocery retailer Seabra Group has bid to buy a closing Lucky’s Markets store in Orlando, Fla., according to documents in Lucky’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

Seabra Foods XIV has been designated the “stalking horse” for Lucky’s Hunter’s Creek store at 4169 Town Center Blvd. in Orlando. Its offer of $1.25 million for the store could still be subject to higher offers as Lucky’s proceeds with a plan to auction all 39 of its stores while under Chapter 11 protection. As previously reported, Publix, Aldi and a group led by Lucky’s founders have also been identified as “stalking horses” for different combinations of Lucky’s stores.

Seabra is a family-run chain of stores specializing in international offerings, located primarily in areas with concentrations of Portuguese and Brazilian immigrants and descendants, including New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Seabra also currently runs a store in Orlando, about 9 miles north of the Lucky’s location.

Seabra was founded in 1971 by Americo Nunes Seabra, a butcher from Portugal, in Newark, N.J., as a store for Portuguese immigrants. His family has expanded its international imports over the years, and the stores serve a variety of ethnic shoppers today.

It was not immediately clear whether Seabra would use the acquired site for a new or a replacement store. Company officials weren’t immediately available for comment.