Central Grocers is now a long-running Chapter 7 liquidation in estate-administration mode, with the most recent activity centered on professional compensation, ongoing trustee-advisor work, and judicial reassignment after Judge Peterman’s recusal. The case began on May 2, 2017, when trade creditors including Coca-Cola, General Mills, Mars Financial Services, and Post Consumer Brands filed an involuntary Chapter 7 petitionDkt. 1 against Central Grocers.
The restructuring pressure sat against a heavily levered grocery cooperative and retail platform: Central Grocers had a $200 million prepetition revolving facility agented by PNC Bank and a $22.5 million prepetition term-loan facility agented by Bank of the West, with liens spanning substantially all personal property and key real estate collateral as described in the Midwest Pension Fund’s venue motionDkt. 92. Early case activity also reflected asset-sale pressure, with PNC reserving rights as administrative agent in connection with proposed sales of the debtors’ assets in its statement regarding proposed salesDkt. 165.
The case’s present posture is post-sale, post-operating restructuring administration rather than a live going-concern reorganization. Rally Capital, financial advisor to the Successor Select Trustee, recently sought interim compensation for January 2025 through February 2026 work covering litigation support, claims administration, estate administration, vendor management, and reporting through its . That application was noticed for a May 22, 2026 hearing, but the docket then recorded an , moving the Central Grocers cases and related adversary proceedings to the Chief Bankruptcy Judge for reassignment.
