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DETROIT-The Farmer Jack chain plans to sell or close nine Food Basics stores in Detroit and several surrounding suburbs. The chain sent letters to employees at the stores thisweek, saying their status would change within 90 days.Farmer Jack declined to comment to reporters, sayingit would announce its plans by May 10.

Managers at two of the stores were told all ofthe stores would be sold, but they were unclear on who the buyers would be. The managers requestedanonymity.The Food Basics stores that may soon be up for grabs include locations in Highland Park,Melvindale, two in Detroit, Sterling Heights, Wayneand Lincoln Park. Another source said a Food Basicsstore in Dearborn Heights on Warren would be convertedto a Farmer Jack store.

An undisclosed source tell GlobeSt.com that the NewJersey-based Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., theparent company of the 102-store Farmer Jack chain, maybe releasing the entire chain. Farmer Jackhas been struggling in recent years as Wal-Mart andother big-box discounters have increased their presence in the Detroitarea supermarket arena. Farmer Jack was founded in Detroit more than 75 yearsago. A&P bought the chain in 1989 and put 10 of itslocal stores under the Food Basics banner last spring.