The estimated date to close a deal on the sale of the former Friedman's Freshmarket in Saxonburg has been moved up to May.

Shawn Beichler, general manager and vice president of real estate at MDI, the store's owner, said the deal would be with the same grocery store he hoped to have a deal with in February. He cannot name the grocer for legal reasons.

“The buyer is working through some issues on his side,” Beichler said Tuesday. “It's the formalities of getting through the contract.”

Beichler said in June he was in talks with a potential buyer and the store would be listed for sale if the deal failed.

The store went up for sale and in September, Beichler said he was in negotiations with multiple parties looking to put a grocery store or other types of businesses in the 27,500 square-foot property on Water Street.

In January, Beichler said the store was under contract with an expected closing date in February.

Regarding contractors and work trucks neighbors in Saxonburg noticed in the fall, Beichler said some equipment inside the store was purchased by the new grocer.

He would not say who paid for any additional work or improvements at the store.

The property has sat idle since January 2018, when it was closed by Carole Bitter, owner of Harold Friedman Inc.

Additionally, the Chicora and Greater Butler Mart stores were closed at that time.

MDI of North Carolina sued Harold Friedman Inc. in January 2018 for failing to make payments on a loan and mortgage she took out against the Saxonburg Friedman's in October 2016.

Bitter immediately countersued MDI, claiming its practices destroyed the 125-year-old business her father started in Butler with a produce cart.

The lawsuit dragged on and was finally settled in March 2019 in federal court by Judge Arthur Schwab of Pittsburgh, who confirmed MDI's position that Bitter failed to uphold her end of the contract.