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Tops

Tops files reorganization plan in U.S. Bankruptcy Court

By Billie Owens

Press release:

Tops Markets LLC (“Tops” or the “Company”) today (Aug. 31) announced that it has filed a Plan of Reorganization (the "Plan") and a related Disclosure Statement with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The Plan incorporates the Company’s court-approved agreements with its unions and is supported by certain of the company's senior secured lenders that hold more than 87 percent of its Senior Secured Notes due 2022.

"The filing of our Plan moves Tops another step closer to a successful completion of our financial restructuring," said Frank Curci, CEO of Tops. “We are pleased to submit a plan that will establish a sustainable capital structure and provide the financial flexibility to create an even more exceptional shopping experience for our customers and emerge from this process as a stronger competitor.”

Curci added, "We thank our employees for maintaining our high quality of customer service and dedication to Tops, as well as our loyal customers, suppliers and other stakeholders for their support as we progress through this process."

A hearing to consider approval of the Disclosure Statement is scheduled for Sept. 27. Following approval of the Disclosure Statement, the company intends to seek confirmation of the Plan on Nov. 8.

Additional information is available on Tops’ restructuring website at www.topsrestructuring.com or by calling Tops’ Restructuring Hotline, toll-free in the United States, at (888) 764-7358. For calls originating outside of the United States, please dial (503) 520-4457. Court documents and additional information can be found at a website administrated by the Company’s claims agent, Epiq, at http://dm.epiq11.com/TOPS.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is serving as legal counsel to Tops, Evercore is serving as Investment Banker and FTI Consulting, Inc. is serving as restructuring advisor.

About Tops

Tops Markets, LLC, is headquartered in Williamsville and operates 169 full-service supermarkets with five additional by franchisees under the Tops Markets banner. Tops employs over 14,000 associates and is a leading full-service grocery retailer in Upstate New York, Northern Pennsylvania, and Vermont. For more information about Tops Markets, visit the company's website at www.topsmarkets.com.

Batavia and Le Roy not on the list of closures for Tops Markets

By Howard B. Owens

Tops Markets today announced it plans to close 10 stores but the neither the Batavia store nor the Le Roy store is on the list.

Tops is in the midst of a financial restructuring and a judge overseeing their bankruptcy proceedings will need to approve the closures.

The chain's other 159 stores are all expected to remain open but as many as 600 of the company's 14,000 employees are likely to lose their jobs.

The company said the 10 stores selected for closure are "underperforming."

The stores scheduled for closure:

  • 2120 W. Genesee St., Syracuse
  • 4141 S. Salina St., Syracuse
  • 710 Lake Ave., Rochester
  • 175 N. Winton Road, Rochester
  • 6720 Pittsford/Palmyra Road, Fairport
  • 33 Forgham St., Lyons
  • 381 Hamilton St., Geneva
  • 909 W. 1st St. S., Fulton
  • 299 S. Main St., Elmira
  • 622 Lake Flower Ave., Saranac Lake

Tops Market in Batavia and Le Roy offer its expanding Instacart services -- same day home delivery

By Billie Owens

Press release:

Tops Friendly Markets is pleased to announce that it is expanding its Instacart services yet again, bringing 27 more stores online bringing the overall number of Tops stores with the Instacart program to 111.

The same-day home-delivery service is offered in its two Genesee County stores, in Batavia and Le Roy.

“We’re excited to bring the service to thousands of our valued customers,” said Edward Rick, director, consumer marketing & digital for Tops Friendly Markets. “We've had such a positive response from customers on our initial launch that we are working diligently to bring the other communities we serve onto the program as quickly as possible.”

Customers can visit TopsMarkets.com/Instacart and enter their zip code to determine if they are within the current TOPS delivery area.

To help celebrate the partnership of Instacart and Tops, Tops is offering free delivery until Jan. 31 when customers shop Instacart at Tops. Complete details on this offer will be available at TopsMarkets.com/Instacart.

Stores that will now offer the service include:

11200 Maple Ridge Rd.

Medina

NY

408 West Ave.

Albion

NY

1800 Lake Rd.

Hamlin

NY

259 West Main St.

Batavia

NY

128 W. Main St.

Le Roy

NY

150 Prospect St.

Attica

NY

2382 Route 19

Warsaw

NY

6272 Furnace Rd.

Ontario

NY

2140 Walworth-Penfield Rd.

Walworth

NY

16 Jon J Wagner Way

LaGrangeville

NY

9554 Harden Blvd., State Rt. 13

Camden

NY

217 Erie Blvd. West

Rome

NY

2555 Main Street

Newfane

NY

184 South Cascade

Springville

NY

6914 Erie Road

Derby

NY

9049 Erie Rd.

Angola

NY

227 East Main St.

Elbridge

NY

40 Fennell St.

Skaneateles

NY

West Genesee St.

Auburn

NY

800 West Genesee St.

Chittenango

NY

Rt. 5 & Oxbow Rd.

Canastota

NY

71 Nelson Street

Cazenovia

NY

909 West 1St St. S

Fulton

NY

409 Fulton St.

Hannibal

NY

3830 Rome Rd.

Pulaski

NY

3385 Main St.

Mexico

NY

6103 N Main St.

Sandy Creek

NY

Tops announced the same-day home delivery service being available across the chain’s footprint in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, as well as Erie, Pa., in the last quarter of 2017. Tops anticipates rolling out the service into most of its remaining stores by the end of first quarter of 2018.

As one of the region’s largest supermarket chains, Tops customers throughout the geographic footprint, whether residing in a larger city or a rural community, now have access to same-day home delivery from Instacart. 

Thousands of items including fresh meat, seafood, and produce literally are right at shoppers fingertips and delivered to their doors in as little as one hour. Customers will not only find a vast majority of Tops in store deals online, but will still find the brands they love, all while earning the gas points they value that they can redeem when they visit Tops fuel stations.

For more information on Instacart delivery from Tops please visit TopsMarkets.com/Instacart.

# # #

Tops Markets LLC, is headquartered in Williamsville and operates 169 full-service supermarkets with five additional by franchisees under the Tops banner. Tops employs more than 15,000 associates and is a leading full-service grocery retailer in New York, Northern Pennsylvania, and Western Vermont. For more information about Tops Markets, visit the company's website at www.topsmarkets.com.

Tops Friendly Markets named a 2016 Healthiest Employer

By Billie Owens

Press release:

Tops Friendly Markets, a leading full-service grocery retailer in New York, northern Pennsylvania, western Vermont, and north central Massachusetts has been recognized as a 2016 Healthiest Employer, an awards program presented by Syracuse Media Group. The company has two stores in Genesee County, one in Batavia, the other in Le Roy.

Select employers from New York State were named winners of the awards program, held earlier this month. The winning organizations were honored for their commitment to employee health, with exceptional corporate wellness programming.

Award applicants were evaluated across six key categories: Culture and Leadership, Foundational Components, Strategic Planning, Communication and Marketing, Programming and Interventions, and Reporting and Analysis. Completed assessments were ranked with the proprietary Healthiest Employer Index, a 1-100 metric for wellness programming.

“At TOPS we take great pride in ensuring a healthy working environment for all of our employees. We encourage involvement in company-wide fitness challenges, health screenings, and provide numerous resources for our associates so that they can actively take charge of their health and well-being,” said Gail Marchese, Manager, Benefits and Wellness for Tops Friendly Markets.

Earlier this month Tops was also honored as a recipient of the prestigious “Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America Award.” This award is the highest, most-coveted distinction in the corporate wellness industry, with only 100 companies in the US earning such designation each year.

Tops Friendly Markets appoints new president/COO

By Billie Owens

(John Persons, Tops new president and COO.)

Press release:

As part of a long-term leadership strategy, Tops Friendly Markets has named John Persons, long-time Tops associate and executive, as president and chief operating officer while Frank Curci will continue to actively serve as Tops chief executive officer and board chairman, the company announced today.

“John’s appointment is the first step in an organized and planned effort to ensure we have consistent and experienced leadership to guide the future growth and success of Tops Friendly Markets,” Curci said. “Over the past eight years, John has played a significant role in building our organization and is committed to ensuring that Tops is providing the best value possible for our many customers.”

In his role as president and COO, Persons will oversee all store operations in Tops’ three-state geographic footprint and all sales, marketing and merchandising operations.

“I look forward as president and COO to working with all members of the Tops family – associates, vendors and suppliers – as we strive to provide Tops’ customers with what they want, when they want it, and saves them time and money,” he said. “I also thank Frank Curci and the Tops’ Board of Directors for the confidence they have placed in me as we continue to build a stronger Tops in the communities we serve."

Persons has been with Tops for more than 30 years, most recently serving as executive vice president of sales, marketing and merchandising. Prior to that, he was senior vice president of retail operations from 2007 to 2014 and vice president of retail operations from 2000 to 2007.

He has been a board director of the company since 2013, having been part of the management team, led by Curci, which bought out Tops from its previous owner, Morgan Stanley Private Equity, in December 2013.

Curci has served as president, chief executive officer and director of the company since December 2007 when Morgan Stanley Private Equity purchased Tops Friendly Markets from Koninklijke Ahold, N.V. (Ahold). He became chairman of the board of directors upon the 2013 management buyout, which returned Tops to local ownership.

Under Curci’s leadership, Tops has more than doubled the number of stores to 165 full-service supermarkets, expanded its geographic reach into eastern and northern New York, Vermont and northern Pennsylvania, invested more than $200 million in store renovations and updates, and created gourmet retailer Orchard Fresh in Orchard Park, NY.

#          #          #
 
Tops Markets, LLC, is headquartered in Williamsville and operates 165 full-service supermarkets – 160 company-owned and five franchise locations. With more than 16,000 associates, Tops is a leading full-service grocery retailer in Upstate New York, Northern Pennsylvania and Western Vermont. For more information about Tops Markets, visit the company's Web site at www.topsmarkets.com.

Tops is once again carrying Alpina Greek Yogurt

By Howard B. Owens

Alpina Greek Yogurt has returned to the shelves of Tops Market in Batavia and Le Roy (Warsaw, as well).

The grocery stores carried Alpina when it was first introduced domestically, but then the product disappeared from store shelves without explanation.

That product was the kind of with granola-like toppings. Tops is now carrying a type of Alpina Greek Yogurt with fruit at the bottom. Alpina also makes a kind of blended yogurt (my favorite), but that isn't available at Tops -- at least it wasn't today.

Alpina is not being stocked in the dairy/Greek Yogurt section. If you want to find it, you need to go to aisle 3, the organic food section (at least, in Batavia).

This is noteworthy, of course, because Alpina Greek Yogurt is made in Batavia. The Alpina plant is in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.

HELP GENESEE ARC WIN

By Genesee ARC News

HELP GENESEE ARC WIN

Great American Charity Car Giveaway

 

Tops Friendly Markets has launched a Great American Charity Car Giveaway. Online voters will choose one local charity to receive a brand new vehicle valued at $20,000.  

Once all of the nominations are in, the public will vote to determine the top 10 deserving charities. A final round of voting will then take place and the charity with the most votes will win a new car courtesy of TOPS. The winning charity may choose to accept the $20,000 cash value of the car. All you need to do is vote online at:

http://www.topsmarkets.com/ or www.Facebook.com/TopsFriendlyMarkets

SEARCH FOR GENESEE ARC in the listing.

 You may vote once a day through July 7, 2011.  We are competing against 86 other organizations across the region.  Your vote is VERY IMPORTANT! The 10 charities that receive the most votes will go on to a second round of voting. A final round of voting will then take place and the charity with the most votes will win a new car courtesy of TOPS! The Winner will be announced on or around July 27, 2011. Please share this information with your family and friends!

Remember: 

VOTE ONCE A DAY

through July 7, 2011

http://www.topsmarkets.com

or

www.Facebook.com/TopsFriendlyMarkets

News Roundup: School Board meets

By Philip Anselmo

Batavia's City Board of Education will meet tonight at 7:00pm at the administration building on Washington Avenue, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. You can download the meeting agenda via the city schools' Web site. Board members are expected to go into an executive session regarding an employment matter.

In other news, Fischer reports that Tops Markets will add as many as ten new stores throughout the region, including several that are planned for Buffalo and Rochester. The supermarket chain will also invest some $150 million in renovations to its existing stores.

GCC and Tops team up for environmental initiative

By Philip Anselmo

From Genesee Community College:

The latest program organized by Genesee Community College's chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) to benefit the general community is a one-day plastic bag collection effort at the Batavia Campus on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM in the cafeteria. All members of the College and local community are encouraged to participate, and those participants who bring in "bags of bags" (35 bags or more) will receive a free Tops Market reusable shopping tote.

"Every year millions of plastic bags are dumped in landfills and thousands more litter our streets, steams and waterways. Plastic bags destroy our marine life and our environment," Jennifer Bryant, student president of Phi Theta Kappa said. "Our goal with this plastic bag collection and recycling initiative is to promote a healthy alternative."

Tops Markets is not only donating 100 reusable shopping totes to the recycling effort, but they are also accepting the multitude of bags from PTK's one-day collection and will ensure that they are properly processed and recycled into other items.

Another green opportunity sponsored by PTK includes signing up for the "End Junk Mail" project wherein PTK members will fill-out and mail in the special postcard in the ‘opt out' of junk mail database. Participants in this initiative help eliminate the volumes of unwanted junk mail most Americans receive daily. In addition, PTK will be selling the special Chico reusable totes which are made from 100% natural products. Proceeds from the $5 Chico totes support the Hites Foundation scholarship fund for PTK members who are transferring to 4-year colleges.

Established in 1918, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society serves to recognize and encourage the academic achievement of two-year college students and provide opportunities for individual growth and development through honors, leadership, and service programming.

For more information about PTK, contact Dr. Alicea-Maldonado, faculty advisor for Phi Theta Kappa at 585-343-0055 x6391 or email: ralicea-maldonado@genesee.edu.

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