Founder, local investors purchase four Earth Fare stores, name and website

Less than two months after natural grocery chain Earth Fare filed bankruptcy, four buyers recently snatched up 11 stores. The founder of Earth Fare, working with other investors, purchased one store in Asheville, North Carolina, where the specialty chain started and was headquartered.

Some Earth Fare locations will rise again in North Carolina  

Earth Fare founder Roger Derrough and other Asheville, North Carolina, investors purchased three stores and their equipment—one each in Asheville; Roanoke, Virginia; and Athens, Georgia— in a bankruptcy auction last week, the Citizen Times reported Friday. Many executives of the new company have connections with Earth Fare, and their $1.9 million bid included the rights to the Earth Fare name and IP address for the website.

After the auction, the same ownership group also picked up a store in Boone, North Carolina, the Watauga Democrat reported Monday.

Whole Foods Market grabs two Earth Fare sites

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, and South Asheville, North Carolina, Whole Foods Market picked up two Earth Fare locations for $2.5 million, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. When the new location opens, it will be the second Whole Foods Market in Chattanooga.

Winn-Dixie picks up four locations in Florida

Related:Earth Fare prepares to close all stores, seeks buyers

Winn-Dixie will open in the space that Earth Fare occupied at The Green at Lakewood Ranch in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, the website YourObserver.com reported Tuesday.in addition, filings in the bankruptcy court show that Winn-Dixie purchased Earth Fare locations in Boynton Beach, Viera and Jacksonville, Florida. The purchase price for all four sites was $1.95 million, according to court filings.