Tops Markets emerges from bankruptcy protection

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — Tops Markets, LLC on Monday announced that it has completed its financial restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The company is coming out of bankruptcy with a “substantially stronger” balance sheet, reducing its debt by about $445 million and with more than $100 million in liquidity, Tops contended in a news release.

The “significantly enhanced financial flexibility” will enable Tops to continue to invest in its stores, the company said. It also has resolved the labor and pension issues that it faced at the start of the Chapter 11 process.

Tops filed its plan for reorganization on Aug. 31. A day earlier, Tops had announced plans to close one store each in Syracuse, Geddes, and Fulton, among 10 “underperforming” stores that Tops closed near the end of October, the company said.

“We are moving forward as a stronger company… We are investing in our stores and rolling out new services that make shopping with us even easier,” Frank Curci, CEO of Tops, said in the release.

One of those services includes “Tops Grocery Pick Up,” which allows customers to order groceries online and select their preferred pickup times. It “builds upon” the “Grocery Delivery” option that Tops rolled out late last year, the firm said.

New York City–based Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP served as legal counsel to Tops, while Evercore (NYSE: EVR), also headquartered in New York City, was its investment banker. Washington, D.C.–based FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN) was Tops’ restructuring advisor.

Headquartered in the Buffalo suburb of Williamsville, Tops Markets, LLC operates 159 full-service supermarkets with five additional stores run by franchisees under the Tops Markets banner. Tops employs more than 14,000 people and serves a footprint that includes upstate New York, Northern Pennsylvania, and Vermont.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Photo by Eric Reinhardt / BJNN