Harding’s Friendly Markets has entered into a tentative agreement to acquire all four of the Village Market Food Centers in southwest Michigan.
The Allegan County News & Gazette reported that in late June, major news broke when SpartanNash announced its sale to a New Hampshire grocery conglomerate.
The News & Gazette maintained, “As a Byron Center-based wholesaler for independent grocers and the owner of the Our Family and Family Fare brands, Spartan Nash showed the acquisition would usher in a new era of change in the Southwest Michigan grocery scene.
Shoppers in Allegan, Colon, Decatur and Gobles can expect another change with the arrival of Harding’s.
Neither chain has made an official announcement yet, but rumors have been stirring, and Wilcox Newspapers in Allegan was able to corroborate them with some close sources.
The four Village Markets are owned by Murk Management of South Haven, who also owns three Village Xpress gas stations and a car wash in South Haven. It is unknown who will keep these after the acquisition.
Harding’s Friendly Markets was founded by Mel Harding in 1944 and is headquartered in Plainwell. The group operates an independent chain of 28 grocery stores in cities across southwest Michigan and northern Indiana, including Bangor, Kalamazoo, Hartford, Plainwell, Schoolcraft, Three Rivers and Wayland.
