Students who do their shopping at Peter’s Groceries, a favorite among those living on South Campus, may soon see a chain grocery store sign in place of the familiar Peter’s logo.

Peter’s, which is under protection of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is considering a buyout offer from Penn Traffic, which owns 111 grocery stores in the Northeast, 20 of which are in the Syracuse area, including the P&C Foods supermarkets. Penn Traffic also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 31, 2003, and company officials believe buying Peter’s is the right move to help them get out of their financial troubles.

‘This is the next stage: Making acquisitions that make sense,’ said Marc Jampole, company spokesman for Penn Traffic. ‘There are two Peter’s stores in good areas where we can expand our market.’

Jampole said Penn Traffic has offered $100,000 for Peter’s Groceries, plus 90 percent of the wholesale inventory cost of the two stores, which totals $1.47 million.

The expansion comes on the heels of the closure of 100 of Penn Traffic’s stores across the Northeast.

‘Part of our reorganization has been to get out of markets where we couldn’t be competitive,’ Jampole said. ‘It’s been a hard time for supermarkets – costs have risen, competition has gone up. We had strong core operations, but were no longer competitive in certain markets.’

Joseph Peter, president of the Peter’s Groceries company, declined comment.

According to Peter’s Web site, the company filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Feb. 6, 2003. This type of bankruptcy allows a company to continue operating while it reorganizes its finances.

Peter’s was founded in 1944 by Joseph Peter’s father, John, and at one time consisted of five separate stores in the Syracuse area. It now operates two stores and employs more than 200 people in the area.

Peter Rossetti, a junior engineering major and resident of South Campus, is one of the store’s regular patrons who will miss the local, family-operated aspects of Peter’s.

‘Peter’s is fine the way it is,’ he said. ‘I like going to Peter’s because it’s right down the street – it’s not far at all.’

Other students living on South Campus who do not visit Peter’s as often – like television, radio and film senior Ian Camacho – are looking forward to something bigger to replace Peter’s.

‘It wouldn’t be as big a deal,’ Camacho said of Peter’s possible replacement by a larger chain store. ‘It might even be better. (Peter’s) is more expensive and the quality is poor. If something better came in, maybe I’d go there more.’

Rossetti also said it would not bother him if a larger chain grocery store took Peter’s place.

‘I wouldn’t be crying about it,’ he said.

Published on November 9, 2004 at 12:00 pm