Fairway Market Expects Mass Layoffs At Douglaston Store

DOUGLASTON, QUEENS — Fairway Market, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, said efforts to sell four grocery stores in New York City and Long Island have proven unsuccessful and it now expects "mass" layoffs.

In a WARN notice posted on the state Department of Labor's website and amended May 15, Fairway Group Holdings Corp. said it had not found a buyer for stores in Douglaston, Red Hook, Westbury and Plainview. The company expects a "mass layoff" at these store locations and the stores will be closed between June 5 and June 19.

More than 2,400 workers across 14 stores will be affected by Fairway Market stores closing, the notice said, including 155 in Douglaston.

Patch has reached out to the chain for comment and will update this story with its response.

Last week, the chain said it transferred ownership of five New York City locations to Village Super Markets. This includes locations in the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Chelsea, Kips Bay and Pelham.

"We want to thank the 1,400 Fairway associates that have kept this business running through the turmoil of the last seven years and more importantly the last three months," the chain wrote, referencing the coronavirus pandemic. "They are front-line heroes."

Fairway has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy twice in four years. The company dug itself out of Chapter 11 proceedings in 2016 by borrowing money and shifting ownership from Sterling Investment Partners to a consortium led by Blackstone's GSO Capital Partners.

The iconic market has been providing New Yorkers with groceries since the mid-1930s, when it launched as a small fruit and vegetable stand on the Upper West Side, and since expanded to 21 locations across the tri-state area.

This story was reported by Patch editor Dan Hampton.