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Luxury Grocer Dean & DeLuca Battles to Survive as Sales Fall

  • Curator of fine foods closes some stores as new rivals emerge
  • CEO vows turnaround as suppliers go unpaid and shelves go dark
A pedestrian passes in front of a Dean & DeLuca store in the Soho neighborhood of New York.

A pedestrian passes in front of a Dean & DeLuca store in the Soho neighborhood of New York.

Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg
Updated on

Dean & DeLuca, the gourmet grocer whose trend-setting New York store introduced Americans to international delicacies more than four decades ago, is struggling to hold on amid stalling sales and a cutthroat competitive landscape.

Some shelves at its flagship store are bare, and suppliers have gone to court over unpaid bills. Other U.S. locations have been shut, leaving Dean & DeLuca with only four company-operated stores in the country, its chief executive said.