What's This Mean for CNY?
By: Stacy Lange
Syracuse(NY)- Penn Traffic, the Syracuse-based company that owns P&C grocery stores, filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Wednesday afternoon. The company owes its creditors more than $137 million. Nearly $1.3 million is owed to creditors here in Central New York.
Those local creditors include ABC Refrigeration, NY State Fair, Deli Boy Provisions, Westvale Plaza, and the Syracuse Crunch.
Economic Ripple Effect
Deli Boy Provisions in Solvay, NY has had financial deal with P&C grocery stores for 45 years. They provide P&C with deli meat, cheeses, and other deli accouterments. The Penn Traffic company owes Deli Boy $326,623.65. Deli Boy's Vice President of Finance, John J. Petosa, says it could take years to get that money back, if at all.
Petosa says this could mean a "significant" loss for Central New York's economy. Deli Boy would lose 15% of their business if P&C stores were to shut down. Petosa also worries that if P&C finds a buyer, they will outsource their suppliers.
"Penn Traffic might be able to sell P&C, but it's not likely that the new store will stick with Syracuse suppliers"
What Employees Think...
Dan Honors is an employee at Deli Boy and Penn Traffic. He's been working in Penn Traffic's warehouse for 30 years, at Deli Boy for 19. He's been with Penn Traffic through all of it's bankruptcy filings, and wasn't surprised to hear about this one; but he also knows that this one's different.
"If we were to be picked up by somebody it would be a very good question if they would honor the contract. We have fourteen months left on the union contract, it expires February of 2011. Most likely the new owners would not honor it. So this is pretty much the end of Penn Traffic as most of us know it."
Honors has the option to retire, but many of his colleagues don't. They will have to find other jobs. P&C announced Friday that if the chain of grocery stores is not bought by another company by February 15th, their employees will lose their jobs.
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