Lucky’s Market files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Lucky’s Market, the Boulder-born and Niwot-headquartered natural-grocery chain, filed a series of Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, a week after the company announced that it would close dozens of locations across the country. Lucky’s reported assets of $100 million to $500 million and liabilities of $500 million to $1 billion. Bankruptcy documents show the company has between 10,001 and 25,000 creditors.

Wilmington, Del., attorney Christopher Ward with law firm Polsinelli PC is representing Lucky’s in the bankruptcy. Ward did not respond to a request from BizWest for comment, nor did Lucky’s representatives.

Last week, Lucky’s acknowledged the imminent closure of at least 32 of the company’s 39 locations.

Lucky’s locations in Longmont and Boulder were among those expected to close

That move came roughly a month after grocery giant Kroger Co. announced that it would sell its investment stake in Lucky’s, which was founded in Boulder by chefs Bo and Trish Sharon.

Kroger, the Cincinnati-based parent of King Soopers and City Market stores in Colorado, invested an undisclosed sum in Lucky’s to form a “strategic partnership” with the local chain in 2016.

Late last week, Lucky’s began filing notices with state labor departments, informing agencies of upcoming layoffs. More than 200 employees — from office assistant to accountants to the company president — will lose their jobs as a result of Lucky’s downsizing, according to a WARN notice filed Friday with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

The WARN Act requires companies with more than 100 employees to file advance notices with their state labor departments when laying off more than half of their workforces at a single site.

“Lucky’s Market intends to permanently close its entire facility at 6328 Park Place, Niwot,” the WARN Notice letter submitted to the state said. “We anticipate that operations will cease no sooner than March 24 and no later than April 7. The facility closure is expected to be permanent. There are 202 employees at this facility. All employees at the facility will lose their employment as a result of the permanent closure.”

According to a commercial real estate marketing materials, the Monarch

Park Place offices are split between two roughly equally sized suites that combine to total nearly 37,000 square feet. Lucky’s occupies one of those suites.

In addition to the layoffs at Lucky’s corporate headquarters, the firm filed a closure and layoffs notice for its north Boulder grocery store location and its adjacent cafe and bake house.

Those facilities employ a total of 98 workers.