PAGE ADDED ON November 20, 2009

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Three Local P&Cs May Close

Three P&C grocery stores in Madison County could close by Feb. 15, 2010, if buyers or financing don’t surface. (Photo by Stefanie Conway)

Closing of six stores in Madison-Oneida counties could mean loss of 393 jobs.

By Martha E. Conway

UPDATED Nov. 20, 2009, 2:03 p.m. – (Canastota, Cazenovia, Chittenango – Nov. 19, 2009) Some local municipal leaders received notification today from the Penn Traffic Company that it may be closing three Madison County P&Cs around Feb. 15 if a buyer for the stores is not found.

Canastota, Cazenovia and Chittenango are among a half-dozen P&C grocery stores in the region served by Working Solutions, Madison County’s employment and training program. According to Madison County Employment and Training Director Lorraine Schmidtka, if all stores served by her program close, it could mean a loss of 393 jobs.

“I received the letter today,” said Chittenango Mayor Ronny Goeler. “I guess I figured it was coming.”

Goeler said Penn Traffic must obviously have been struggling for some time, and he didn’t expect them to successfully emerge from a third bankruptcy.

“It’s my understanding this means 56 jobs for the people in our store,” Goeler said. “This really hurts the community. [If the store closes], people are going to have to drive further, though I can’t say by how much. It could mean Walmart or Price Chopper in Oneida or Wegmans in DeWitt.”

Goeler said those who would be particularly hard-hit would be those people without transportation and the elderly, something that is a challenge throughout the county. People in the northern reaches of Oneida suffered last year when Save-A-Lot closed unexpectedly in June.

Schmidtka said her office did not receive the letter that went out to local elected officials. She said communications between the Utica office and her office indicate that in addition to the three Madison County stores, those in Sherrill, Rome and Camden are among those being considered for closing. If people in Madison County work at the P&C at Fayetteville Towne Centre, they would likely use her services, as well.

“Our Dislocated Workers Center in Utica [a part of the state Department of Labor Employment Office for the area] has been speaking with Penn Traffic and the unions,” Schmidtka said. “The unions play a big part in what will happen here. They are waiting to see which stores are purchased and by whom.”

Once that information is available, representatives from organizations like hers will go to the affected stores to speak with employees and explain the benefits and services available to them.

“After that, they can then come to our offices,” Schmidtka said.

Some of the positions are union, some non-union. If some stores close and others remain open, union employees of stores that are closing would be able to use their seniority to “bump” other employees in the same positions at stores that remain open.

Seniority will not provide the same opportunity for non-union employees, Schmidtka said. She said her gut feeling is that negotiations for sale have been or are underway.

The State of Employment

The October unemployment numbers came out today, Schmidtka said.

“We are at 7.3 percent,” Schmidtka said. “But those who have exhausted their benefits fall out of that number.”

According to Schmidtka, daily traffic in the Working Solutions office is “down a hair, but only slightly.” She said new claims are slowing some, but if these stores close, it could change that. Earlier this year, more than 100 people a day visited the facility for services, Schmidtka said.

“We’ve been down to just under 90 a day for about the past three months,” Schmidtka said.

What Will Community Leaders Do?

Lenox Town Supervisor Rocco J. “Rocky” DiVeronica said losing the store would be a hit to the community, but the town does have the Main Street Market and an Aldi grocery store as a backup.

“I haven’t received the letter yet, but I will certainly look at what we can do to help keep them here,” DiVeronica said, adding that he worried about more local dollars going out of the area and residents being pushed to shop at Walmart in neighboring Oneida.

“I certainly hope another grocery store or chain can step in and fill the void, not only for the people who work in these stores, but the people who have come to rely on them,” said Madison County Board of Supervisors Chairman John M. Becker. “As we’ve come to rely on more and more chain stores, the mom-and-pop stores have gone out of business. There’s not many of them left.

“This is going to hurt Canastota, this is going to hurt Chittenango, and this is going to hurt Cazenovia,” Becker said. “In today’s economy, I don’t know who’s going to step up and make the investment. I certainly hope a Wegmans or Price Chopper…I talked to Price Chopper about moving into Chittenango four years ago when I took office. At that time, they said they wouldn’t consider it as long as P&C was here. I am hoping that, knowing what I know now, Price Chopper will come and fill that void.”

Canastota Mayor Todd Rouse said he doesn’t think an empty store is on the horizon.

“It appears to me that this is part of the bankruptcy process,” Rouse said. “My guess is they are covering their bases. We went through the same thing the last time they filed bankruptcy.”

Rouse said he believes there likely is a plan for succession, but if the store were to close?

“This leaves a huge void for people who live here,” Rouse said. “We have Aldi, but that’s not a full-line grocery store. With our demographics, this location would be attractive to someone. Whether it’s a chain or an individual, someone is going to find the situation attractive.”

Community leaders would work with agencies in the area, Rouse said, to try and recruit another grocery retailer.

“People have said P&C’s prices have gone up exponentially,” Rouse said. “Naturally, you don’t ever want to lose a business, but if Penn Traffic can’t pull it out, I’m confident Canastota will be attractive enough that someone will want to go in there.”

Cazenovia Mayor Thomas Dougherty said the news came as a shock to him. He said losing the store would have a tremendous impact on his village and the surrounding areas.

“A lot of people shop there,” Dougherty said. “We do all our shopping there. I’m not sure where we would shop. I don’t know where a lot of people would go. They would probably end up going to Onondaga County and taking their sales tax revenue with them.”

Dougherty said area seniors would be among the most seriously affected.

“I hope there is someone else who could get in there real quick, knowing the situation, and how hard it would be for people [to shop outside the community],” Dougherty said.

Becker said Penn Traffic struggled for years and he would like to see a more stable entity fill any void that may be created by Penn Traffic pulling out.

“It’s going to be tough,” Becker said. “These are three more stores that generate sales tax in Madison County that could now be gone. This is what I’ve been harping on for the past several weeks during budget discussions: New York State is not business friendly.”

“This is a big blow to the community, to sales tax revenue,” DiVeronica said. “I have some ideas, and I will start making some calls in the morning.”

Penn Traffic did not answer their phones Thursday afternoon.

Martha E. Conway is Managing Editor for the Madison County Courier. She can be reached at 315.813.0124 or by emailing Martha@m3pmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/marthaeconway or become a friend on Facebook at http://facebook.com/meconway.

4 Comments on "Three Local P&Cs May Close"

David L. Sadler on Fri, 20th Nov 2009 12:44 pm

John Becker is exactly right when he
says New York State is not business
friendly.

I have considered starting a retail
business in this state, however
considering the tax situation it would
not be worth the time and effort.

It would be great if independent
retailers rather than a retail chain
could acquire the soon to be defunct
P&C stores. That is unlikely to happen.

Bill on Sat, 21st Nov 2009 10:40 am

The Post-Standard mentioned that Chittenango already has a buyer lined up. It appears that it might be Price Chopper. But, Cazenovia is too small for Price Chopper to want to take over, so no news there.

John Sposato on Sun, 22nd Nov 2009 5:40 pm

This train wreck has a domino effect and getting someone new in these stores doesn’t happen overnight. I’d like to see PriceRite, ShopRite, A&P, Tops, Price Chopper, Hannaford, or Weis get these stores. Seniors in the smaller communities aren’t going to want to go to a big store like Walmart or Wegmans. It’d really be hard for those who don’t drive, as bus service in Madison County is sporadic at best. I’m keeping track of where this will go in the next few months.

Bill Haddad on Mon, 23rd Nov 2009 7:34 pm

We re-elected him???
Town Supervisor Rocco J. “Rocky” DiVeronica says “losing the store would be a hit to the community, but the town does have the Main Street Market and an Aldi grocery store as a backup.”

Rocky, you try to shop for a family of 6 at the Main Street Market.

Give me a break!

Three Local P&Cs May Close

Closing of six stores in Madison-Oneida counties could mean loss of 393 jobs.

The State of Employment

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