Rehoboth Superfresh to close

The Route 1 Superfresh, which survived a nationwide reorganization five years ago, is slated to close in November. Acme Markets has entered an agreement to purchase 76 stores, including the Rehoboth location.

Superfresh bakery manager Kim Givens has worked at Superfresh since she was 17. It's the only job she's known. Now, with 26 years under her belt, she and about 200 others working at the Pelican Plaza store are left wondering what will happen when Superfresh closes and a new corporate grocery store takes over.

“Everybody's uneasy,” she said. “We're all hoping for the better.”

Employees were notified by mail Aug. 12 that they will no longer be employees of Superfresh, but they could be hired by Acme. The deal is subject to legal and bankruptcy court approval, but barring last-minute maneuvering, Acme Markets is slated to take over the Route 1 Superfresh in November.

Givens said Acme officials have visited the store to look at the infrastructure, but nothing has been said about salaries, benefits or applying for new jobs, Givens said.

“Acme has said they'll come in and talk to everyone individually,” she said.

Superfresh employees are represented by the United Food Commercial Workers. A meeting is scheduled Sept. 2 to discuss the pending change.

“We're hoping to get some severance,” Givens said. “We've already given so many concessions.”

When Superfresh underwent reorganization in 2010, the Rehoboth store survived a wave of closings that shuttered stores across the state. However, Givens said, the company cut vacation time, personal days and shaved hourly wages by $2.

“We're making what we made 15 years ago,” she said. “We're already behind the eight-ball and can't take any more cuts.”

If it turns out more salary and benefit cuts are in order, Givens said, she for one will consider a new job or career.

In the information packet distributed to employees, Superfresh's parent company assured workers that keeping jobs was important.

“We are working tirelessly to preserve as many jobs as possible,” reads the statement from the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company.

Employees were told their jobs are expected to terminate sometime between Nov. 12 and 26. Superfresh will be closed permanently, and employees will no longer work for Superfresh, officials said. Bumping rights, in which senior workers keep jobs over employees with less experience, are applicable, the statement said, with no further explanation.

A&P spokesman Brian Shiver declined to comment further on when ownership is likely to change.

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. – parent company of Superfresh, A&P, Pathmark and three other out-of-state grocery stores – filed for Chapter 11 protection July 19, putting its nearly 300 supermarkets up for sale. On July 20, Acme announced it would acquire the Rehoboth Superfresh and 75 other stores, pending approvals.

The Rehoboth Superfresh was one of seven Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea stores in Delaware, including Pathmark and A&P stores in Wilmington, Newark and New Castle. Acme has expressed interest in the Rehoboth store and four others in Wilmington and Newark.

On Acme's website, officials said all the acquired stores will become Acme supermarkets. Officials also said they have no plans to close any stores, and intend to operate business as usual.

Danielle D'Elia, Acme's communication manager, declined to comment on the date the store will become Acme or whether the store will close during transition.

“It's still early in the process, and the transaction is still subject to customary regulatory approvals,” she said.

There is still the potential for higher bids; A&P has asked bankruptcy court officials to require additional bids by Sept. 11 so that the sale can be approved by Oct. 15, Acme's website states.

Acme's parent company, Albertson's, owns 18 grocery store brands including Safeway, which also has a Route 1 store. D'Elia said she does not expect store closures or store lay-offs at either store.

"In fact, we plan on hiring substantially all of the employees from the stores we acquire," she said.

Once approved and finalized, D'Elia said, Acme's focus will be on providing food solutions to the neighborhoods served.

“At Acme, we focus on fresh, full, friendly, and clean stores,” she said. “We take great pride in providing really great stores that our customers love to shop.”

Givens said she and other employees are trying to look on the bright side.

“It's a wait-and-see thing, and we're hoping for the best,” she said. “It would be nice to come in and want to go to work again. We're all praying for a good, strong company to come in.”