Report Says Fairway Will Close. Fairway Says It Won’t.

"This longtime Upper West Side flagship at Broadway and West 74th Street was reported among 14 locations facing liquidation, a dramatic turn after years of steep losses, stock collapse, a prior Chapter 11 filing, and mounting debt. Coverage and insiders blamed an aggressive, poorly executed expansion, incoherent leadership, and rising competition from national specialty grocers; the retailer initially denied closure reports before announcing sales of five stores and voluntary bankruptcy protection. The store had been a beloved local institution—generations of neighborhood shoppers gathered there—so the prospect of its closure prompted widespread sadness and criticism of private-equity ownership and corporate mismanagement." - Chris Crowley