Super 88 ownership claims go back to state court
A Boston judge has dismissed the bankruptcy filing of Super 88, kicking the embattled Asian supermarket chain back into state court, where several parties are vying for a piece of the business.
Super 88 LLC, the chain's parent company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, saying the business had between $10 million and $50 million in liabilities. The bankruptcy put a halt to the sale of Super 88 stores in Allston, Dorchester, and Malden. A trio of buyers have been fighting in Suffolk Superior Court over ownership of those three stores.
Frank Kirby, the attorney representing Super 88, did not immediately return a call for comment. Kirby has said previously that he hoped the company's bankruptcy would give the business, which had fallen on hard times, some breathing room to "decide what it's next step was going to be."
The homegrown Boston chain was founded by Peter Luu after he arrived in Boston in 1979, following his family's flight from Vietnam. At its height, the company had six stores in Greater Boston. But the Luu family closed half of those stores last year, and more recently, Super 88 had trouble keeping shelves stocked as suppliers complained they were not being paid.
In late August, the New York-based grocery chain Hong Kong Supermarket Inc. said it was buying Super 88's three remaining stores. Two other potential buyers immediately stepped forward, saying they'd already made deals to purchase individual Super 88 locations. Amid several attempts by Hong Kong Supermarket to secure its claim to the chain, the parties spent months battling in court before the bankruptcy filing was made.
That filing could have cleared the way for Hong Kong Supermarket to buy Super 88, because a bankruptcy judge has the authority to entertain offers to buy the business.
Vincent Pisegna, the attorney for potential buyers Doris and Gary Wong -- who hope to purchase the Allston Super 88 for $3.2 million -- praised Hillman's decision
"We are heartened that the bankruptcy court saw the bankruptcy case for what it was: Another attempt by Hong Kong Supermarket to get around five state court orders" preventing its immediate purchase of the chain, Pisegna said.
Judge William C. Hillman appeared to cast similar doubts on Super 88's bankruptcy request. "I think this whole case smells," he said as he issued his dismissal of the filing, according to Howard Speicher, attorney for Wincent International Inc. of New Jersey, which runs the Kam Man Asian supermarket in Quincy. Speicher said it's rare for a judge to make such a blunt statement.
"You don't really hear a judge say something like that. He used the word smell a couple of times," said Speicher, whose client claims to have a deal with the Luu family to buy the Super 88 store in Dorchester for $2 million. Speicher said his client will continue to try to close that deal.
A representative for Hong Kong Supermarket did not immediately return a call for comment.
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