Slow decline, 1978–2000
In 1978, Food Fair fell victim to financial problems. The company entered bankruptcy that year and a new management team, led by supermarket veteran Grant Gentry, began streamlining the 456-store, $2.7 billion company. By the end of 1978 the company took the first steps in the long journey out of bankruptcy by closing all of the JM Fields stores. Those stores were quickly purchased by Caldor, Jefferson Ward, and Kmart. In early 1979, the company left their home market of Philadelphia, where the firm was headquartered. The company closed more than 50 stores in the area, even though they were the second-largest chain in greater Philadelphia in terms of market share. Between 1979 and 1981 more than 200 stores were closed, along with several warehouses. Food-a-Rama bought 14 of the 48 Baltimore-area stores in 1981. By this time, Food Fair had emerged from bankruptcy, and was based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, under the name Pantry Pride Stores, Inc. The company had entered into talks to be purchased by the Supermarkets General Corporation (Pathmark Stores) that same year, but discussions were abandoned when Pantry Pride's stockholders filed a complaint. Pantry Pride outsourced their wholesale operations to Supervalu when they sold their Miami and Jacksonville distribution centers. The company then began selling off huge chunks of their assets when they sold two-thirds of their remaining stores, including the last of their Richmond, Virginia, stores to A&P, which continued to operate the stores under the Pantry Pride banner until 1986.[3][4] Only about 40 stores in southern Florida remained.
In 1984, Pantry Pride acquired Devon Stores, a home improvement store, and the 400-store Adams Drug Company, which operated in the northeastern United States. The owner of Devon Stores, who obtained about 10.4% of the merged company, then sought an ouster of the Pantry Pride Board of Directors. In 1985, using junk bonds, 38% of Pantry Pride was acquired by investor Ronald Perelman. This was enough to acquire control, and Perelman liquidated their assets but kept the losses on the books to offset profits from MacAndrews and Forbes, which he had previously acquired. Perelman used Pantry Pride as a vehicle to acquire other companies, in particular Revlon. By 1986, the name of Pantry Pride was changed to Revlon Group. The Delaware Supreme Court decision relating to the takeover of Revlon by Pantry Pride, Revlon, Inc. v. MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc., has become a seminal case in American takeover law.
In 1985, the last stores in southern Florida were sold to Red Apple Group, a New York supermarket chain owned by John Catsimatidis. By 1990, the chain was being supplied by the Fleming Companies. The last store opened in 1991 in Sunny Isles, Florida. By this time, nearly all of the stores were renamed Woolley's, after Bill Woolley acquired the latter named chain of seven stores in the late 1980s. In 1993, Fleming bought the Woolley's chain after a dispute with Catsimatidis. The remaining stores were either closed or sold by 2000. Many of the stores that were sold have retained the "Food Fair" name under the new ownerships.[5][6] An unrelated chain using the Food Fair Fresh Market name has operated in the New York City metropolitan area since 2009 and is a member of Key Food.[7]
