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As far as Wall Street is concerned, Fairway really is a “super” market.
Shares of the gourmet Manhattan grocer — known for its rock-bottom prices on high-end foods — soared 33 percent in their trading debut, raising $177.5 million.
Fairway Group Holdings Corp. closed at $17.35 yesterday after selling shares at $13 a pop — above the expected range of $10 to $12 — through an initial public offering late Tuesday.
The stock, which trades under the symbol “FWM” on the Nasdaq, jumped as much as 42 percent during the day but lost some of those gains when the broader market indices fell sharply.
Fairway, whose slogan is “Like no other market,” initially filed to go public in September. The IPO was delayed after Superstorm Sandy flooded and damaged its Red Hook, Brooklyn, store in October; it didn’t re-open until the end of February.
One-third of the company, or 13.65 million shares, was sold to the public. Fairway is still controlled by private-equity firm Sterling Equity Partners, which is spurring the chain to expand.
Fairway, which got its start in Manhattan in the 1930s, has become a haven for foodies seeking deals on everything from exotic cheeses to organic produce to free-range fowl.
Expanding from its Upper West Side roots, Fairway — which has 12 stores in the metro area, including New York, Connecticut and New Jersey — is planning to open as many as 300 stores across the country, despite fierce competition from Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.
It plans to open a fifth store in Manhattan in the Chelsea neighborhood this summer and one in Nanuet, NY, in the fall.
Sales were up 14 percent to $554.9 million for the year ending April 1, 2012. The company lost $11.9 million in that period.