Judge approves Tops' store closings

Tops Friendly Markets can move ahead with several store closings after a federal bankruptcy judge approved the company’s paperwork last week, according to a report in the the Poughkeepsie Journal.

The Williamsville, N.Y.-based grocery chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February and asked for judicial approval in April to close some underperforming stores, or “any stores that they determine, in their business judgment, should be closed in order to preserve liquidity and maximize the value of their respective estates," according to court documents.

The Poughkeepsie Journal reported that Tops also stated in documents that while the majority of stores are "sustainable profit centers," others have "consistently under-performed."