Southern Season Inc., the North Carolina-based specialty food store that closed its Libbie Mill-Midtown store in Henrico County in April, has filed for chapter 11 protection, the <em>Richmond Times Dispatch</em> reported on Sunday. The Chapel Hill, N.C., specialty food retailer sought bankruptcy protection on Friday as it reorganizes its business to focus on smaller stores and growing online sales. Southern Season is in the midst of closing its store in Mount Pleasant, S.C., near Charleston, and is scrapping expansion plans in Atlanta as it focuses on smaller versions of its stores. Reproducing the big-format store concept that saw success at its flagship original location in Chapel Hill isn’t translating in other markets, the company said.
