Even Burkle Can't Save Grocer as Fresh & Easy Falls Again
- Yucaipa bought food retailer out of Chapter 11 two years ago
- Chain joins A&P, Haggen among supermarkets in bankruptcy
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Billionaire Ron Burkle couldn’t save Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Inc. from joining A&P, Pathmark and Food Emporium as the newest victim of a super-heated U.S. supermarket business dominated by Whole Foods Market Inc. and Trader Joe’s Co.
Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos. bought the grocery chain out of bankruptcy two years ago from Tesco Plc, the U.K.’s biggest retailer, which retained a stake. Tesco built Fresh & Easy in 2006 and 2007, at the height of the U.S. real estate boom. Since the 2013 bankruptcy, the chain struggled to remake itself as a fresh-food convenience store.