Kings Food Markets is an American food market chain headquartered in Parsippany,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
, with stores in northern New Jersey,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, and
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
.
From 1988 to 2006, it was owned by British retailer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
.
In 2009, Kings acquired
Balducci's
Balducci's Food Lover's Market is a mid-Atlantic specialty gourmet food retailer in the United States with eight grocery stores, owned by Albertsons since 2020.
History
The Balducci family patriarch, Louis, an immigrant from Bari, Italy, began ...
. In 2016, Kings and Balducci's were sold by Angelo, Gordon & Co. and MTN Capital Partners to GSSG Capital.
The upscale market branded private label products under the Kings Own brand name.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
in 2020, the market drew national attention for its policy on mask-wearing: when a customer entered the store without wearing a mask, they were given a mask and the CEO's phone number.
On August 23, 2020, Kings filed for
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...
and on October 14, 2020, it was announced that
Albertsons
Albertsons Companies, Inc. is an American grocery company founded and headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
With 2,253 stores as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2020 and 270,000 employees as of fiscal year 2019, the company is the second-larg ...
submitted a winning $96M bid for the company.
On December 7, 2020, Kings closed their location in
Maplewood, New Jersey
Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's populat ...
after being in Maplewood from 1942 to 2020. On the same day the Maplewood location closed, Kings announced their locations in Long Hill, New Jersey and on River Street in Hoboken New Jersey will close. These locations closed in late December 2020.
On January 15, 2021, Kings announced that their locations in
Bernardsville, New Jersey
Bernardsville () is a borough in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is nestled in the heart of the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,707,
and in
Warren Township, New Jersey
Warren Township is a township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. The township is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the much larger New York metropolitan area, located within the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United State ...
will close. These locations closed on January 23, 2021.
On February 23, 2021, Kings shuttered its location in