Loss of 4 grocery stores still felt
A court battle revolving around Friedman's Freshmarket's closure in 2018 extended into this year.
Food provider Merchants Distributors Inc. (MDI) sued Friedman's Freshmarket's parent company, Harold Friedman Inc. (HFI), for breach of contract because HFI did not make required loan payments.
HFI owner Carole Friedman Bitter initially countersued the company, maintaining the company's business practices were not up to industry standards and sunk the grocery stores.
After a prolonged battle in court and discussion through arbitration, Bitter agreed on a settlement, but initially did not sign the required documents, according to a status report.
“But after months of delays and excuses, HFI now refuses to sign a formal settlement agreement,” said MDI attorneys in court filings. “Moreover, in January 2019, HFI began trying to change the terms of the parties' original deal, asserting new rights contrary to the parties' original agreement.”
MDI motioned to enforce the settlement agreement, which was denied in March because a Feb. 27 status report revealed Bitter intended to sign the agreement that day.
The settlement included foreclosure of some of the well-known grocery store locations.
“In sum, the proposed judgment would have resulted in the liquidation of all of HFI's assets to satisfy about $2.1 million that HFI owes plaintiffs ...” a court document said.
Since the settlement, multiple former Friedman's locations have been taken over.
Gateway Engineers transformed the former Butler location at 122 W. Brady St. into its local office, which opened in December.According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, a newly formed LLC was filed Oct. 17 with the state under the name Sprankle Saxonburg LLC. It listed the same address as the former market in Saxonburg.CBRE in Pittsburgh, which leases the spaces in the Greater Butler Mart, said it’s working to potentially replace the former Friedman’s with a new grocer.The Chicora store was also closed.
