Highland based grocer Strack & Van Til announced Tuesday it will sell off 22 of its stores and close nine under performing stores immediately. Strack's parent company Central Grocers Inc. is working with a legal team and financial advisors toward implementing a sale of Strack and Van Till stores, which will continue to operate as normal until a sale is official. Two of the 9 stores closing immediately are based in Indiana, the Gary Ultra and the Merrill Point Ultra in Merrillville, the rest of the seven stores are based in Illinois. President and CEO of Strack a & Van Til Jeff Strack said in a statement:
“We appreciate the great impact a store closure has on associates, customers, vendors and the community and our team is committed to minimizing that impact in every way we can," said Strack.
“As we move forward with this sale process, we are as committed as ever to providing our customers the highest-quality products and services and working hard to make sure our customers are completely satisfied." As a third-generation member of the company’s founding family, and a proud member of the Northwest Indiana community, I want to assure our customers and neighbors that we take pride in the responsibility we have to the communities we serve and live in. We thank our loyal customers for their ongoing support, and also thank our employees for their continued hard work and dedication.”
The company currently operates 32 stores in Illinois and Indiana under the banner names Strack and Van Til, Ultra Foods and Town and Country Market.
Store Closures as of Tuesday:
- Gary-Ultra
- Merill Pt.-Ultra
- Crestwood-Ultra
- Wheaton-Ultra
- Joliet-Ultra
- Lansing-Ultra
- Chicago Heights-Ultra
- Calumet Park-Ultra
- Forest Park-Ultra
Below is a conversation with President and CEO of Strack & Van Til Jeff Strack on "Regionally Speaking" with Chris Nolte from June 29th, 2016:
http://lakeshorepublicmedia.org/regionally-speaking-wednesday-june-29-2016/