Covid-19 Pantry Stocking Brings Grocers Back From Brink

The same Covid-19 pandemic that sidelined the restaurant industry has proved a savior for grocery stores like Kings Food Markets.

The chain’s debt-laden parent was about to close for good when a sudden spike of coronavirus-spurred shopping gave it the chance to reorganize under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy instead. The extra sales boosted the company’s bottom line, put it on better footing with lenders, and gave it enough cash flow to afford the extra costs of marketing itself for sale in bankruptcy.

“To get to a place where we could begin planning in earnest, the company had to have the ...