Williamsville, N.Y. -- Tops Friendly Markets announced that the company has entered into an agreement with GU Markets LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., to acquire 21 supermarkets located in upstate New York and Vermont.

This acquisition will bring the number of Tops stores to 153 and will expand Tops' footprint further into areas of northern and eastern New York State and neighboring northern Vermont. The planned acquisition of the 21 stores follows up on the 2010 acquisition of the Penn Traffic stores.

Current plans call for 20 stores to be operated under their current Grand Union banner, and one store to be operated under its current Bryant's banner.

"We are very excited about this growth opportunity for Tops, especially since these stores are a natural extension of our current footprint," said Frank Curci, Tops Markets' president and CEO. "We are looking forward to having these stores and the surrounding communities become part of the Tops family."