LEBANON — The Gardener’s Supply store on Mechanic Street will remain in operation for the foreseeable future, despite the Burlington-based company filing for bankruptcy last week.

Aside from confirming that the store, located on Route 4 near Interstate 89, is not closing nor planning to close, the store manager declined to make any comment regarding the bankruptcy this week.

The employee-owned Gardener’s Supply Company, which operates online and in stores across Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, filed for bankruptcy in Delaware last Friday.

All of its locations will continue to operate while the company restructures — as indicated by the bankruptcy being filed under Chapter 11.

Gardener’s Supply Company will “engage in a sale process (of the company and its assets), whether in or outside of chapter 11,” according to court filings.

Gardens Alive Inc., a direct-to-consumer gardening supply company based in Indiana has made an initial bid of $9 million.

Gardens Alive is an online, direct-to-consumer gardening company with a mission of providing “gardeners with environmentally friendly products,” according to its website.

According to court documents, Gardener’s has 126 full-time and 291 part-time employees, which sharply increases seasonally. Gardener’s filed to continue paying the wages and benefits of these employees throughout the bankruptcy process.

Before Gardener’s Supply Company bought the Mechanic Street location in 2018, it was Longacre’s Nursery Center, which brothers Jim and Joe Longacre initially launched in 1971 as a landscaping business.

Founded in 1983, Gardener’s has received a slew of awards, including being named a certified “B” or “benefit” company, which underscores its commitment to addressing social and environmental issues as a business.

Gardener’s saw record sales during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic, which drove up the stock value of the company. With this increase, the stock payouts of a number of retirees with “significant tenure” strained the company’s assets, according to court documents.

This strain, later compounded by a return to pre-pandemic sales numbers, pushed Gardener’s to restructure. But even with this restructuring, the company was not able to recover.

“Despite cost-cutting measures, the challenges posed by increased competition, rising shipping expenses, tariffs, and escalating marketing costs have proven insurmountable,” the company said in an emailed statement.

According to the bankruptcy filing, Gardener’s Supply estimates its trade debts to 30 companies between $1 and $10 million. The creditors include shipping companies, online advertisers and nurseries — with the largest three being UPS at about $913,000 in trade debt, Google at $632,000, and Prides Corner Farms at $375,000.

The best option for the company, it decided with its partners, was to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy and make “a planned move to facilitate a transaction with a potential buyer,” the company said in an emailed statement.

In the meantime, business will continue as usual for Gardener’s Supply Company both online and at physical stores. “Our dedication to meeting our customers’ needs remains at the heart of everything we do,” the company’s statement said.

Lukas Dunford can be reached at ldunford@vnews.com or 603-727-3208.