Fairway Market has disputed an explosive report that it plans to shut down, writing on Twitter that it “has no intention to file for chapter 7 [bankruptcy] or liquidate all of its stores.”
“All 14 stores remain open for business, offering a complete range of high quality, specialty food products,” the company wrote, “and we look forward to seeing our customers and employees.”
Fairway posted the tweet on Wednesday morning in response to a New York Post article that claimed that the popular grocery store chain was going to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and close all 14 of its stores, including its flagship location at Broadway and West 74th Street on the Upper West Side, where its rent is apparently $6 million a year.
Fairway’s brand in New York dates back to 1933, and the company has long been one of the most popular and recognizable grocery stores in the city. However, it has recently faced growing competition from Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, along with the online grocer FreshDirect.
The grocery store filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2016 but emerged from it a few months later with GSO Capital Partners as its new owner. However, GSO is no longer an investor in Fairway.