Amazon has bid on-and is expected to prevail in acquiring- four stores from the upscale grocery Fairway Market, which declared bankruptcy in January, the New York Post reported.
Two stores are in New York (Brooklyn and Westchester County) and two are in New Jersey (Woodland Park and Paramus), according to the report.
It is uncertain how Amazon would position the stores, but it is said to be considering starting a new chain totally separate from its Whole Foods operation. Amazon is also opening a cashierless Amazon Go grocery store in Seattle.
But since grocery chains tend to be geographically contiguous, the purchase of these stores may signal future east coast expansion.
Fairway, with origins in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, operates 14 stores in New York state, Connecticut and New Jersey. Its bankruptcy is largely attributed to its heavy debt load.