Haggen, the Northwest newcomer to the region’s grocery scene, has filed for bankruptcy protection just six months after debuting in California and the Southwest.

9/9 update story: Haggen failure fastest in modern supermarket history, analyst says.

The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

The company will receive $215 million in debtor-in-possession financing from its lenders to maintain operations during its sale process.

“After careful consideration of all alternatives, the company concluded that a reorganization through the Chapter 11 process is the best way for Haggen to preserve value for all stakeholders,” said John Clougher, chief executive officer of Haggen, in a statement. “The action we are taking today will allow us to continue to serve our customers and communities while providing Haggen with a process to re-align our operations to be positioned for the future.”

Haggen will be using Sagent Advisors to “market for sale some locations in the five states it operates and to explore market interest for various store locations,” the company said in a statement. The company’s other remaining assets will be sold.

Haggen in its statement said it has made several motions with the bankruptcy court to allow it to continue its day-to-day operations so it can pay its employees during the restructuring.

The bankruptcy filing lists Haggen’s creditors, including distributor Unified Grocers, vendors like Coca-Cola and Frito Lay, and money transfer service MoneyGram. The final creditor listed is Albertsons, and the amount owed, for litigation, is listed as disputed and undetermined, according to the Oregonian newspaper.

A week ago the company, which is based in Bellingham, Wash., with its Pacific Southwest division in Irvine, sued Albertsons’ parent company for $1 billion, alleging the chain undercut its effort to transition Albertsons and Vons stores in the region.

The complaint filed last Tuesday contends Albertsons participated in “coordinated and systematic efforts to eliminate competition” and “made false representations to both Haggen and the FTC about Albertsons’ commitment to a seamless transformation of the stores into viable competitors under the Haggen banner.”

The road to expansion has not been smooth for Haggen, which acquired 146 stores in January when Albertsons and Vons divested 168 locations to satisfy federal regulators during a merger with Safeway.

The company grew from 18 stores to 164 in a matter of months, with 11 locations opening in Orange County by early summer.

Almost immediately trouble erupted as customers balked at high prices and limited inventory. In July Haggen began laying off six to 10 employees at each of its new stores.

Around the same time, Albertsons sued its new rival for more than $41 million it claims Haggen owes for inventory that changed hands during the store conversions.

Soon thereafter Haggen announced in August it would close four of its Orange County locations within 60 days. The company said it would shutter a total of 27 stores as it “right-sized” itself.

In its lawsuit Haggen contends Albertsons engaged in an illegal campaign against the Northwest grocer.

“During the transfer process, Albertsons launched its plan to gain market power and/or monopoly power, acting in a manner that was designed to (and did) hamstring Haggen’s ability to successfully operate the stores after taking ownership,” the complaint said.

Haggen alleges Albertsons’ tactics forced the chain to downsize, both by closing stores and laying off employees.

“Haggen has had to focus on strategies to recover from Albertsons’ wrongful acts, which include, sadly, Haggen’s efforts to find new jobs for displaced employees who too are victims of Albertsons’ actions,” the complaint alleges.

The suit says Alberstons provided Haggen with false retail pricing data, causing Haggen to unknowingly inflate prices; cutting off Haggen-acquired store advertising; and timing the remodeling of its retained stores to interfere with Haggen’s entry to the marketplace.