Lucky's Market, a small regional grocer that at one point appeared to have promising growth throughout the Southeast, is now filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closing or selling most of its stores.

Lucky's Market has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. According to filings, the company amassed a considerable debt to both Kroger (KR  ), which had invested heavily in the once-promising small grocer, and to between 10,000 and 25,000 different creditors. At the time of the court filing, Lucky's $600 million in outstanding liabilities and was $301 million in debt to Kroger. Debt aside, Lucky's decision to file for bankruptcy likely lies with Kroger's decision to divest in the company due to its rapid debt accumulation and Kroger's view that the investment required to turn the company around wouldn't be worth the returns.

Signs that the company was in trouble began well before Kroger's divestment. In its filings, Lucky's Market reported that it still employed 3,100 workers, a decrease of over 800 workers from May of last year. According to some employees, operating hours were being cut to shrink operating costs. The timing of the cutbacks coincides with Lucky's rapid growth into Florida, painting a picture of a company that grew too far, too fast for its good. The regional grocer was entering a market with thin profit margins and stiff competition from the likes of Publix and Winn Dixie, which were deeply entrenched within the Southeast. The rapid pace at which Lucky's tried to expand and the lack of profitability that the company faced in Florida would be the chain's ultimate undoing.

Lucky's short-lived growth spurt has left 32 open stores and 19 planned stores on the chopping block, most of the open stores being in Florida. Of its many stores in Florida, Lucky's only plans on maintaining its Melbourne location. It has been reported that low-cost grocer Aldi is set to purchase five of Lucky's stores, but the locations that the German grocer is set to purchase is currently unknown. In an email to News Daytona Beach, regional grocer Publix stated that it was set to purchase an additional five locations and disclosed their locations. The fate of the other stores remains unknown. With the stores set to close in the coming weeks, many landowners who gambled on Lucky's success and invested thousands of dollars into housing the market are being left out to dry. For some, their stores had never even opened or broken ground.