RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal judge has approved the sale of gourmet retailer Southern Season after it struggled to expand.

The News & Observer (http://goo.gl/GykxkU ) reports that the sale should allow the flagship Chapel Hill location to stay open, but that Southern Season will close stores elsewhere including Raleigh and Asheville.

Delaware-based Calvert Retail agreed to pay $3.5 million in a bankruptcy sale on Friday. The deal is expected to close on Monday.

Calvert owns Kitchen & Company stores in several states including the Carolinas.

The newspaper says there are no immediate plans for changes at the Chapel Hill Southern Season location.

Started in 1975, Southern Season is well-known for its Chapel Hill store and mail-order business. But the company filed for bankruptcy and closed Virginia and South Carolina locations earlier this year.