A&P loses footing in Queens

New Jersey-based A&P said this week it will close supermarkets in the Bayside and Long Island City sections of Queens, Crain’s reported. The closure of the 61,500-square-foot Pathmark, at 42-02 Northern Boulevard in Long Island City, would be especially devastating to a community with a scarcity of grocery options had another operator not already signed on for the space. When Pathmark’s lease expires at the end of the year it will be replaced by Bogopa’s Food Bazaar brand. The 130 people employed by the supermarket were given options to work at other nearby stores.

However, in Bayside, at 46-40 Francis Lewis Boulevard, the shuttering of the 19,500-square-foot Waldbaum’s will likely mean the loss of jobs for 77 people, according to Bayside Patch. Residents said the recent arrival of a Fairway in Bayside probably affected Waldbaum’s business. It will close when its lease expires in August.

A&P filed for bankruptcy protection last year and closed four local supermarkets at the time, including a Pathmark in Brooklyn. It emerged from Chapter 11 protection with $490 million in financing from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Mount Kellett Capital Management and Ron Burkle‘s Yucaipa Companies. [Crain’s] and [Bayside Patch]