HURRICANE MARILYN DAMAGES CARIBBEAN UNITS

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, St. Thomas -- Hurricane Marilyn flattened a Grand Union store here in the U.S. Virgin Islands and also damaged all five Pueblo stores there. The 30,000-square-foot Grand Union is leased by a holding company operated by New York-based Red Apple Cos. John Catsimatidis, chairman and chief executive officer of Red Apple, estimated the loss at about $1 million in fixtures and inventory. Ironically, that store, and another Grand Union in St. Croix, were scheduled to be sold to Pueblo Xtra International, Pompano Beach, Fla., last Thursday -- less than a week after the hurricane hit. Both companies told SN those deals have been put on indefinite hold for re-evaluation. Although all five Pueblo units had some damage, the store here was the only one that experienced damage severe enough to keep it closed for the foreseeable future, Jeffrey Freimark, chief financial officer and executive vice president of Pueblo, told SN. The store here had severe roof damage and some structural damage, "and it's still unclear when it will be able to reopen," Freimark said. Of the other four Pueblo units, one here and one in St. Croix with minor roof damage reopened last Monday, two days after the hurricane hit, Freimark said. Two others -- one on each island -- were expected to reopen by the end of last week after suffering more extensive roof damage and some water damage to products, Freimark said.