A&P Files for Bankruptcy

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., better known as A&P, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

It's been a long slow decline for A&P, which operates grocery stores along the eastern seaboard including Pathmark, Super Fresh, Waldbaum's and Food Emporium. At it's peak in the 1930s, the chain operated nearly 16,000 stores. Today, it has just 395. Sales for it's most recent fiscal year ended February 27, 2010 were $8.8 billion, down from $9.5 billion in 2008. This fiscal year isn't over for A&P, but management indicated losses have doubled for the final quarter of the year so far.