The supermarket chain told state officials on Monday that it would close 16 stores within the next two months, if it can’t find buyers or business partners. But in fact all of Marsh’s stores will shut their doors if the company comes up empty-handed.
Marsh Supermarket’s future as a grocery chain is in jeopardy, as the company is prepared to close all of its stores within two months unless it can’t find buyers or business partners, a spokesman for the company confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
After a steady stream of announced closing in recent weeks, the locally based supermarket chain warned in a notice to state officials on Monday that 16 more stores were slated to close within 60 days. The loss of the 16 stores would eliminate 1,454 full- and part-time jobs.
But in fact all of Marsh’s remaining stores will close in 60 days if a buyer or investor cannot be found, spokesman Tom Mulligan said Tuesday afternoon.
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The chain currently operates 60 stores — 54 in Indiana and six in Ohio. Sixteen of those already are set to close by the end of May. That would leave 44 remaining stores that now are in danger of closing within two months, including the 16 in Monday’s letter to state officials.
The language in the letter applies to all Marsh stores, Mulligan said. They are “subject to the same conditions of the (state) notice,” he said.
It was not immediately clear why Marsh only noted 16 closures in its notice to the state, filed in accordance with the Federal Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act (WARN). Such notices are triggered by employment levels that might not apply to all of the Marsh stores.
Marsh operates a Hometown Market store in Columbus at 3075 E. 25th St., and until early 2013 had operated a smaller grocery store at 2710 State St.
Marsh owner Sun Capital Partners has hired Peter J. Solomon Co., a New York City-based investment banking firm, to help the company in its quest to sell the stores.
Marsh operated 120 stores in 2006, when Florida-based Sun Capital Partners acquired the company.
