Tops Markets emerges from bankruptcy protection

Western New York-based Tops Markets, which has four stores in the Hudson Valley, announced that it has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings after completing financial restructuring.

Tops Markets said in a statement that it had reduced its debt by about $445 million and had $100 million in liquidity. It also said that it had resolved the labor and pension issues it faced when it filed for Chapter 11 protection in February of this year.

“We are moving forward as a stronger company with an even greater ability to provide convenience, savings and friendly service to customers across our communities. We are investing in our stores and rolling out new services that make shopping with us even easier,” CEO Frank Curci said.

One of those new services is “Tops Grocery Pick Up” that lets customers order groceries online and select their preferred pickup times.

In 2016, the Erie County-based company bought Stop & Shop stores in Rhinebeck, New Paltz and Wappingers Falls as well as a Hannaford supermarket in LaGrangeville and Carmel. The Wappingers Falls store was open about a year before Tops closed it citing lack of performance. Eighty-four workers were laid off.

During this past summer, the company announced it was closing 10 underperforming  stores.

Tops opened its first supermarket in 1962 in Niagara Falls. Tops has 159 full-service supermarkets along with an additional five supermarkets operated by franchisees under the Tops banner in New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont.