Caputo stores expected to remain open through auction
Joe Caputo & Sons grocery stores in Algonquin, Palatine and Des Plaines are expected to stay open for business while their real estate, fixtures and inventory are sold at a May 12 auction.
No one knows what will happen once the sales close, but the hope is that the stores continue to operate, though possibly with new landlords, said Katie Churchill, vice president of Murray Wise Associates in Champaign, which is handling the auction.
"We all want to make the creditors whole, and have these grocery stores continue to serve the neighborhoods," Churchill said.
Each parcel of real estate is being sold separately, she said.
The highest bidders will be provided to the U.S. District Court for approval, which could take about a week. Afterward, the sales could close in about 30 days, Churchill said.
In February, Chicago-based wholesaler Anthony Marano Co. sued Caputo for $3.6 million in unpaid produce bills since last June. Five other wholesalers have since added their names to the suit alleging Caputo owes them another $1 million. The case was filed in U.S. District Court and a trustee has been assigned to oversee the auction to repay the debt to the creditors.
The May 12 auction starts at 10 a.m. at the Hyatt Regency Rosemont. Each store inventory and fixtures will be sold separate from the real estate parcels.
The properties are:
• A 67,550 square-foot grocery-retail building on a 7.92-acre site at 100 S. Randall Road in Algonquin.
• Fox Fire Plaza, a 66,233 square-foot, two-building retail center on a 5.95-acre site at the southeast corner of Hicks Road and Rand Road in Palatine.
• The Oaks Shopping Center, a 135,004 square-foot retail center on a 15.08-acre site located at 1517-1555 and 1572-1591 Lee Street in Des Plaines.
Joe Caputo is father to Nat and Vito Caputo, who operated the stores before a trustee was appointed. The family-owned Joe Caputo grocery chain closed three stores in Arlington Heights, Northbrook and Elk Grove Village last year. Those stores were former Dominick's locations Caputo acquired in January 2014.