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Andronico's Telegraph Berkeley Store Is Closing

By Bay City News
Saturday November 26, 2011 - 09:11:00 AM

Andronico's, the supermarket chain that opened its first store in Berkeley in the 1920s, announced today that it will close its Telegraph Avenue store in Berkeley.

The store was called "Park and Shop" when it opened, but the name was later changed to reflect family ownership.

The closure is related to the chain's restructuring after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this August, according to a representative for the markets.

Five stores will remain open and "will receive the company's full attention" as part of a capital improvement plan expected to begin early next year, according to a statement released on behalf of the company. 

"The closing of the Telegraph Avenue store became necessary because the property would have been too difficult to bring up to the standards that our customers expect and deserve," said Bill Andronico, a third-generation member of the market's founding family. 

Andronico said that the chain is now financially stable following the sale of the company to Renovo Capital. 

"We have completed a difficult restructuring process, and I am pleased that we have been able to save the business and in the process preserve 375 jobs," he said. 

Andronico's will continue to operate its two stores in Berkeley on Shattuck Avenue and Solano Avenue, and stores in San Francisco, San Anselmo and Los Altos. 

"We have embarked on an ambitious program of significantly improving merchandising and stock conditions now that we are healthy again," Chief Operating Officer Justin Jackson said. 

Over the next year, capital improvements will be made at the remaining locations, Jackson said, to "greatly enhance the categories and shopping experience our customers expect in this unique marketplace."