Bottom Dollar Food Stores To Close By Year’s End And Be Sold To Aldi

The Belgium-based owner of Bottom Dollar Food stores plans to close its 66 store locations in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia markets and sell the assets to discount food competitor Aldi Inc. for about $15 million.

Aldi said the purchase is part of an expansion plan that will add 650 stores nationwide by the end of 2018.

Delhaize Group of Brussels said all stores are expected to remain open as Bottom Dollar Food stores until yearend. After that, banner will be retired. The sale of stores and leases to Aldi is expected to be completed by March 31.

Read more: http://triblive.com/business/headlines/7104718-74/aldi-stores-bottom#ixzz3ILGhsZ8R
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Agreement Reached To Sell Harrisburg Incinerator To Lancaster Authority

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Dauphin County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

An agreement has been reached that will allow the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority to purchase the long-troubled Harrisburg incinerator, officials said Wednesday.

Details about the plan — including the sale price — were not disclosed.

At a press conference, Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson touted the agreement, months in the making, as a key to bailing out the financially beleaguered city.  “This is the turning point we’ve all been waiting for,” she said.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/875044_Agreement-reached–to-sell-Harrisburg-incinerator-to-Lancaster-authority.html#ixzz2ZzKfEDjE

Fairgrounds Square Mall Sells At Auction For $13.6 Million

Editor’s note:  Hopefully somebody can turn Fairgrounds Square around.  It needs some TLC.

The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co. today bought the

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Fairgrounds Square Mall for $13.6 million, pending judicial approval.

The mall is expected to remain open and continue to operate.

An attorney for the trustee was the only bidder at the sale, performed by the U.S. Marshal Service in Philadelphia, said Patrick Ennis, supervisory criminal investigator civil unit for the marshals.

The mall was scheduled for marshal sale after GP-Fairgrounds Square LP, the mall owner, failed to meet its financial obligations.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/Article.aspx?id=457395

Rut-Ro Rorge! Auntie Anne’s Has Been Sold!

Image via Wikipedia

Wildly popular Lancaster-based Auntie Anne’s Pretzels has been sold to huge food conglomerate FOCUS Brands of Atlanta, GA.  Auntie Anne’s, while no longer being locally owned, will stay based in Lancaster.  The sale was completed Monday for an undisclosed price.  Auntie Anne’s is the world’s largest hand-rolled soft pretzel chain with 1,100 stores internationally.  Auntie Anne’s is expected to produce $375 million in sales this year.  That’s a LOT of pretzels!

There are 274 employees based in Lancaster at the headquarters and at the production/warehouse facility.  Hopefully they won’t end up like Mrs. Smith’s!

FOCUS Brands owns Carvel, Cinnabon, Seattle’s Best Coffee (some international rights), Schlotzsky’s and Moe’s Southwest Grill in addition to Auntie Anne’s.  FOCUS Brands is owned by even larger Roark Capital, also based in Atlanta.