Haggen files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Grocery chain Haggen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

Haggen listed more than a dozen creditors in the 22-page federal court filing. Unified Grocer is their biggest creditor. Haggen owes them an estimated $14.8 million.

Other creditors listed include Moneygram, Pepsi-Cola, Coca-Cola, Charlie's Produce, Suupervalu Inc., Frito Lay, Starbucks and more.

The filing was first reported by The Oregonian.

Haggen sues Albertsons after taking over some stores

The small grocery chain Haggen announced last week it was suing Albertsons for more than $1 billion, alleging the supermarket giant engaged in efforts to eliminate it as a viable competitor in five states.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Delaware, accuses Albertsons of anti-competitive practices. Haggen, based in Bellingham, Washington, says it was forced to lay off hundreds and close nearly a fifth of the stores it had acquired from Albertsons and Safeway.

The Seattle Times says that earlier this year Haggen bought 146 Albertsons and Safeway stores, expanding into California, Nevada and Arizona. It had previously operated in Oregon and Washington.

Haggen alleges Albertsons hamstringed its ability to operate those stores. It also says Albertsons gave it misleading and incomplete retail pricing data and illegally accessed Haggen’s confidential data.

In an emailed statement, Albertsons spokesman Brian Dowling says “the allegations in the lawsuit are completely without merit.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.