Earth Fare files bankruptcy, will close stores and corporate office

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Feb. 4 – Earth Fare, Inc. filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District a Delaware, one day after it announced that it would begin inventory liquidation sales at all of its stores.

Earth Fare said in a Monday news release that, under the Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, all employees had been notified of the impending closure of the company’s stores and corporate office.

During this time, the company said it will continue to pursue a sale of its assets, in whole or in part.

Earth Fare said it has implemented numerous strategic initiatives over the past four years that were aimed and growth and expansion and enhancing the customer experience.

“While many of these initiatives improved the business, continued challenges in the retail industry impeded the company’s progress as well as its ability to refinance its debt,” the company said in the release.

“As a result, Earth Fare is not in a financial position to continue to operate on a go-forward basis. As such, we have made the difficult, but necessary decision to commence inventory liquidation sales while we continue to engage in a process to find potential suitors for our stores.”

According to court documents, Earth Fare has $100 million to $500 million in both assets and debt.

The company’s largest unsecured creditors are UNFI of Lincoln, R.I., with a $9.6 million trade claim; Inland Seafood of Atlanta, with a $6.2 million trade claim; Albert’s of Swedesboro, N.J., with a $5.89 million trade claim; Crosset Co., based in Cleveland, with a $5.25 million trade claim; Gourmet Foods International of Chicago, with a $2.34 million trade claim; and Southeastern Products Inc. of Fountain Inn., S.C., with a $1.02 million trade claim.

The company is represented in its Chapter 11 proceedings by Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor, LLP.

Earth Fare is an Asheville, N.C.-based specialty natural and organic grocery store and full-service supermarket. The Chapter 11 case number is 20-10256.

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