CHAMPAIGN – The Jerry's IGA grocery chain will close one of its last two stores in Champaign-Urbana and sell the other, along with its store in Rantoul, to the owners of local County Market stores, both companies announced Tuesday.

The Jerry's IGA at 2110 Round Barn Road, C, will be closed.

The chain's flagship store – the Jerry's IGA at 312 W. Kirby Ave., C – along with the Rantoul IGA will both remain open, and be converted to County Market stores.

The stores are expected to change hands in 30 to 60 days, probably closer to 30 days, said Rich Niemann Jr., president of Quincy-based Niemann Foods, the company that owns the County Market stores in the area.

Neither Niemann nor Kirby Foods, the Champaign company that owns the IGA stores, disclosed the purchase price.

Niemann said both the Champaign and Rantoul IGA stores will be remodeled, and all IGA employees will have a chance to apply for jobs at the new County Market stores.

Niemann Foods has more than 600 employees in the Champaign County area, and Niemann said Jerry's IGA employees at the Round Barn store will also be invited to apply for jobs with the Niemann chain.

Niemann Foods offers an employee stock ownership plan to its associates. At the average store, about 30 percent of the employees are also owners, Niemann said.

Kirby Foods President Jerry Reynolds said his company approached Niemann Foods about the sale as the extended recession made an already competitive grocery market even more difficult.

"It's a tough call, but it's economically necessary," Reynolds said.

The timing of Kirby Foods' exit from the Champaign-Urbana market coincides with the lease expiring on the Round Barn store, he said. That store will close in 45-60 days, he added.

The sale will leave Kirby Foods with 15 stores – 11 IGA locations and four Save-A-Lot stores in Illinois and Indiana.

The smaller-town groceries are "in great shape," Reynolds said.

"We just don't do well in the big city," he added.

The larger Niemann Foods expects to have 89 stores by the end of the year, with the acquisition in Champaign and some stores in other communities under construction, Niemann said.

With the purchase of the two IGA stores, it will have five County Market locations in Champaign-Urbana, along with a Save-A-Lot store in Urbana and a pet food store in Champaign.

Niemann Foods will buy the equipment from the Round Barn store, but wasn't interested in acquiring it, given its proximity to existing County Market stores, Niemann said.

Both the Rantoul and Kirby Avenue stores will remain open during the remodeling, with the Rantoul store set to get one of County Market's "Traditions" style make-overs. The Kirby Avenue store will be remodeled with a more unique look to appeal to the customer base in that area, Niemann said.

County Market stores in Champaign-Urbana already serve some Rantoul residents willing to make the drive, and the chain has long wanted a presence of its own in Rantoul, Niemann said.

"We've always had our eye on that market, and this opportunity presented itself," he added. "It allows us to serve more customers more conveniently."

Reynolds and the rest of the team at Kirby Foods have been "great to work with," and very concerned about their employees, he said.

"I'm sure that this was a very difficult decision for them, but I can tell you they've always been very concerned about their associates, and as we began these conversations, that has always been part of the conversation."

Kirby Foods got its start in 1969 with the former Kirby IGA Foodliner store that was renamed Jerry's IGA in 1983. Reynolds and two other longtime managers bought the company in 2001. The chain was converted to an ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) company last year, Reynolds said.

In a prepared statement Tuesday afternoon, Reynolds said:

"The decision to exit these markets has been a very difficult decision for Kirby Foods. We are keenly aware of the impact on our employees and customers and regret that we are unable to continue to operate these stores. We certainly appreciate the hard work of our employees and the patronage of our loyal customers over these many years. We at Kirby Foods wish the Niemanns good luck with these stores."