Another Big Apple supermarket chain can’t pay the bills
It’s tough times for the Big Apple’s grocers.
Garden of Eden, a 22-year-old upscale market, filed for bankruptcy protection this week after closing half of its six stores in the last few years.
The filing in Manhattan federal court is the latest blow to the city’s family-owned, independent grocers.
Cash-strapped D’Agostino is getting a financial lifeline from billionaire John Catsimatidis, who owns the Red Apple and Gristedes grocery stores.
Fairway Market, which was family-owned before it went public in 2013, filed for Chapter 11 earlier this year.
Garden of Eden experienced “a historic lack of patronage” this year, which reached a crisis in the slower summer months when it fell behind on payments to its secured creditors and landlord, according to the filing.
The company, which has three stores in Manhattan, tried to raise up to $5 million in 2014 to fund an expansion of five stores, according to term sheets obtained by The Post. At the time there were four stores.
“The business has a significant amount of debt (over $5 million) which seems to be a high level relative to the size of the business,” said Adam Stein-Sapir of bankruptcy claim buyers Pioneer Funding Group.
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