NORWICH – The fate of the Norwich P&C remains a mystery as Penn Traffic’s bankruptcy hearing ended Friday with no decision. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court, in Wilmington, Del., will resume the hearing today.

On Friday, Tops Markets submitted an $85 million bid to acquire all 79 Penn Traffic stores, 53 of which are located in New York.

“The court proceeding went as expected, and our goal to see a bid chosen that will save the greatest number of jobs is on track,” said U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer. “Nothing will be final until the bankruptcy hearing is finished and a deal closes, but it looks like over 4,000 New Yorkers are on the way to keeping their jobs. It’s a good day for Upstate New York.”

Katie McKenna, communications and public relations manager for Tops Markets, echoed the senator’s statements.

“We plan to keep as many stores open as possible,” said McKenna. “Retaining a large number of union jobs is our first priority as we wait for the bid to be approved. The majority of the stores will remain open.”

McKenna said she believes the bid will go through early this week, and could be approved as early as today. It is still unknown how the acquisition will affect the Norwich store.