The Penn Traffic Co. yesterday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, after the financially embattled grocer’s board of directors determined the move to be in the best interest of the company’s creditors and other stakeholders. Penn Traffic’s stores, which operate under the P&C, Quality and BiLo banners in upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and New Hampshire, will be sold, along with other assets.

“Our P&C, Quality and BiLo supermarkets remain open for business to serve our customers and communities,” said Penn Traffic president and CEO Gregory J. Young. “We intend to continue to work closely with our vendor partners to provide the fresh products and good value that our customers have come to expect from our stores.”

Until a sale can be arranged, the Syracuse, N.Y.-based company will continue to manage its properties under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and in compliance with the applicable provisions of the Bankruptcy Code.

Vendor partners, creditors and stakeholders in search of further information were referred to www.donlinrecano.com/penntraffic. New York-based Donlin Recano is handling Penn Traffic’s bankruptcy claim.

At a hearing scheduled for today, the grocer will seek the bankruptcy court’s approval of a consensual cash collateral arrangement with senior secured lenders to enable it to maintain business operations while searching for a buyer.

Money woes have dogged the supermarket operator for years. The company has declared bankruptcy twice before, in 1999 and 2003. More recently, Penn Traffic sold off its wholesale business segment to C&S Wholesale Grocers during fiscal 2009, and shuttered its Penny Curtiss bakery division in 2008.