Dean & DeLuca, a pioneer fine-foods retailer in New York City for decades, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The coronavirus pandemic pushed the 43-year-old grocer over the edge, according to court documents, but it hopes to sell its brand name — known for such luxury items as $165 tins of Siberian caviar — for $50 million.
The company’s only source of income for the past six months has been royalty fees from a handful of franchised stores that paid the company $1.5 million in 2019, according to the filing.
“It is unclear whether the debtors will continue to receive license payments in the near future due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the filing states.
Joel Dean and Giorgio DeLuca opened the first store in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood in 1977.
But in recent years, it changed hands several times — most recently bought in 2014 for $140 million by Thailand-based real estate company Pace Development — and the chain has struggled against lower-priced competitors.
There were 42 stores worldwide when Pace bought the chain.
The company has accumulated $100 million in operating losses and owes $700,000 to vendors. The grocer owes approximately $275 million to its lenders, landlords, vendors and other creditors, according to the filing.
The Gotham Reporter 