Real Estate

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Wegmans Food Markets here has announced plans to open its first Maryland store at the Hunt Valley Mall in suburban Baltimore.

CHICAGO - Nash Finch Co. plans to take over a 106,000-square-foot building here for its Avanza Supermarket chain, which caters to Hispanics.

LIVONIA, Mich. -- The Kroger Co. of Michigan will purchase the assets of Dave and Tom Johnston's IGA stores in Frankenmuth and Bridgeport, Mich., in conjunction with the chain's pledge to spend $185 million over the next three years to update and expand its store base in southeastern Michigan, according to Jon Flora, president of the Great Lakes Kroger division.

CHICAGO -- A judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois here yesterday rejected a motion by Kmart Corp.

MONTVALE, N.J. - After selling and closing more than two dozen stores while it seeks a new owner for its 8 O' Clock coffee subsidiary, A&P stands to gain more than $300 million if all goes as planned, according to a report in yesterday's Star-Ledger, a Newark, N.J. daily newspaper.

SANTIAGO, Chile - Santa Isabel, a supermarket chain controlled by Ahold, is preparing to sell its assets in Peru and Paraguay, a company spokeswoman said yesterday.

LONDON - Britain threw cold water on a bidding war for the country's fourth-biggest supermarket chain Safeway Plc on Wednesday, ordering all but one of the five bidders to undergo a competition inquiry, Reuters reports.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Ingles Markets Inc. on Monday announced that James W. Lanning has been named president, replacing Vaughn C. Fisher who retired in December 2002.