No Winning Bids in Ultra Foods Auction

The Ultra Foods locations in metro Chicago and Northwest Indiana went unsold this week in an auction as part of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings for Joliet, Ill.-based Central Grocers.

Independent grocery distribution cooperative Central, which owns the Ultra and Strack & Van Til banners, hopes to auction off its remaining assets, which include 19 supermarkets and a 930,000-square-foot warehouse.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois adjourned this week’s auction until an unspecified date, after no one made a successful bid for 11 Ultra Foods stores, many of which are already closed, the Northwest Indiana Times reported. Central filed for bankruptcy in May, less than a month after announcing it was putting its retail banners up for sale.

Jewel-Osco has entered a $100 million stalking horse bid for 19 Strack & Van Til and Town & Country stores in Northwest Indiana, but could be outbid by other buyers.