The Austin Weekly News is reporting that longtime Chicago-based grocery chain Moo & Oink will either be sold or face liquidation, due to the sagging economy and a decline in sales.
The company, which is over 150 years old, owns three stores in Chicago, including an Austin location at 4848 W. Madison St.
The Austin Weekly News said Moo & Oink Inc. could be forced to liquidate its assets "as soon as reasonably possible," according to a letter sent to the company's creditors on Aug. 2 by Steven Nerger, who has been appointed by the company as trustee and assignee for the benefit of creditors of Moo & Oink Inc.
Nerger did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and calls to the company were not immediately returned. However, an outgoing message at the company's wholesale division states that it is no longer shipping products outside ofIllinois.
Moo & Oink has faced stiff competition as retailers have expanded into food deserts where it has historically cornered the market. Moo & Oink's Austin location is near a Walmart, which recently expanded to include a grocery. The company has also faced higher commodity costs that have likely affected margins.
Meanwhile, Moo & Oink's store at 7158 S. Stony Island Drive is now in close proximity to an Aldi and a Save-A-Lot.
Save-A-Lot, which plans to open up to 30 Chicago stores in the next three years, carries Moo & Oink products at its Chicago stores. The discount grocer opened five South Side locations this winter.
A spokeswoman for the company wrote in an email that she was uncertain how the meat company's situation would impact Save-A-Lot in any of its stores, if at all.
