Grocery chain to shutter four stores in region

Specialty natural and organic grocer Earth Fare, with four locations in the region, is shutting down operations and closing all its stores. The company, in a statement, cited “continued challenges in the retail industry” as the core reason for the closure. 

The Ashville,. N.C. company has one store in Lakewood Ranch in east Manatee County and three in the Tampa region, in Lutz, Seminole and Oldsmar. The demise of Earth Fare follows the recent news of Colorado-based niche grocer Lucky’s Market, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Jan. 27. The grocer, with at least three locations spread from Tampa to Naples, signed agreements with Aldi and Publix Super Markets Inc. to acquire 11 of its locations. One of those was the Naples Lucky’s.