Asian-themed grocery store chain 99 Ranch Market has landed in the Garden State for its East Coast expansion, according to documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Tawa Supermarket Inc., which operates Buena Park-based 99 Ranch, bought two stores from the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. in Montvale, N.J., during a bankruptcy auction held Oct. 1.
Tawa paid $3.7 million for a store in Edison and $2.8 million for a Jersey City location. It “intends to remodel” the spaces during the next nine months and “operate a specialty Asian-American supermarket chain at each location,” according to an affidavit Great A&P’s Chief Restructuring Officer Christopher McGarry filed with the court.
Other Buys
The New Jersey buys almost coincided with Tawa’s shopping spree in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, where it picked up three West Coast stores from Haggen Holdings LLC for $3.3 million. It paid $30,000 for a San Diego location, $2.1 million for one in Chula Vista, and $1.2 million for a store in Beaverton, Ore.—its first in that state.
The auction sale, held Nov. 9 to 11, was approved by the bankruptcy court on Dec. 1.
“Following remodeling … purchaser intends to operate grocery stores … with a product mix and merchandising approach similar to … other 99 Ranch Market stores,” Tawa Vice Chairman Jonson Chen said in a statement to the court.
The private company operates 39 stores—31 in California, two in Nevada, four in Texas and two in Washington. It had about $350 million in revenue last year, according to industry sources, employing 650 in Orange County and about 2,200 companywide.
Its main competitors include New York-based Hong Kong Supermarket; Shun Fat Supermarket in Monterey Park; and H Mart, which is based in Lyndhurst, N.J.
Other locally based grocery chains include Anaheim-based González Northgate Markets, which caters to Latino-Americans.
Taiwanese expatriate Roger Chen and a business partner opened the first 99 Ranch Market in 1984, a 16,000-square-foot store they named Man Wah Supermarket.
Chen rebranded the stores in 1988 as 99 Ranch Market—many Chinese consider 9 a lucky number because it is said to symbolize longevity. He also collaborated with Frank Jao of Bridgecreek Group on development of the two-story Asian Garden Mall on Bolsa Avenue in Little Saigon that opened in 1987. Chen owns half of the property.
In 1993 Uni-President Enterprises Corp., which operates 7-Eleven convenience stores, and Tawa invested in Vancouver, Canada-based T&T Supermarkets. Loblaws Inc. acquired the 17-store chain for $225 million in 2009.
Tawa purchased an $8 million stake in San Marino-based East West Bancorp in 2001, a move that came as a trend of bank branches in supermarkets took hold. The bank now has branches at nearly all 99 Ranch stores.
Chen also licensed the company name and logo at one time, with franchise locations popping up in Atlanta in 1993, in Phoenix in 1997, and in Honolulu in 1998. All have since closed.
