Mi Pueblo Foods, a San Jose-based Hispanic grocery store chain with a location on First Street in Gilroy, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday, according to the company.
Perla Rodriguez, vice president of the company’s public affairs, said that currently, the store has no plans to close any of their 21 Bay Area stores or lay off any of their 3,000 employees.Â
“There may be changes in the future, we don’t now that, it’s very early to tell. This is a challenge, a bump in the road that we will get over,” Rodriguez said.Â
The company has had difficulties negotiating with their primary lender, Wells Fargo, she said.Â
In the coming months, the grocery chain will establish their plan for restructuring finances.Â
Mi Pueblo Foods is known for its festive atmosphere and fresh Mexican produce and cuisine. Founded by Juvenal Chavez, a former janitor and Mexican immigrant, the company – which began in 1991 with one humble deli and grew to a $300 million chain by 2012 – has represented a business success story for Hispanic immigrants.Â
