The auction of Haggen’s core stores, which includes a store in Port Angeles, has been rescheduled once again.
The new time and date for the auction is 6 a.m. Monday, Feb. 22, according to a court document filed Monday, The Bellingham Herald reported.
The auction of Haggen’s 33 stores was set to begin today. Previously, it was scheduled for January but then was moved to Friday, Feb. 5. It will take place at the offices of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in New York City.
The court document does not say why the auction has been rescheduled three times, and Haggen officials did not comment on the change.
Bellingham-based Haggen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization last year after purchasing nearly 150 stores from Albertsons and Safeway.
In November, Haggen auctioned off dozens of non-core stores, retaining the Port Angeles store and 32 others.
The Haggen banner went up on the former Albertsons store at 114 E. Lauridsen Blvd. in Port Angeles in February 2015.
Store Manager Darrel Chard confirmed last December that the Port Angeles store was among those to be sold at auction.
He had no information about plans for the some 65 employees of the store.
“We’re not closing, so I don’t know why any arrangements have to be made,” he said then.
There are no other Haggens on the North Olympic Peninsula.
Union rankled
The Herald reported that Denise Jagielo, president of the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 367, said in a written statement that moving the auction again continues to place an “unacceptable uncertainty” in the lives of the workers.
“We are not a bit optimistic that this will be the final date change,” she said.
The sale hearing to approve the high bidder, which was scheduled to take place Wednesday, Feb. 17, will be scheduled for a later date, The Herald said.
At this point, it has not been publicly disclosed who are the qualified bidders for the auction.
Whether the Haggen name disappears will be up to buyers who could keep the brand, which is well-known in the Pacific Northwest.
