Press release from Earth Fare:
ASHEVILLE, N.C., Feb. 3, 2020 Earth Fare, the authentic specialty natural and organic grocery store and full-service supermarket, announced today that it will begin inventory liquidation sales at all of its stores. Pursuant to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), all employees have been notified of the impending closure of the company’s stores and corporate office. During this time, the Company will continue to pursue a sale of assets, in whole or in parts.
“Earth Fare has been proud to serve the natural and organic grocery market, and the decision to begin the process of closing our stores was not entered into lightly. We’d like to thank our Team Members for their commitment and dedication to serving our customers, and our vendors and suppliers for their partnership,” said Earth Fare.
Over the course of the past few years, the Company has implemented numerous strategic initiatives aimed at growth and expansion and enhancing the customer experience.
“While many of these initiatives improved the business, continued challenges in the retail industry impeded the company’s progress as well as its ability to refinance its debt. As a result, Earth Fare is not in a financial position to continue to operate on a go-forward basis. As such, we have made the difficult, but necessary decision to commence inventory liquidation sales while we continue to engage in a process to find potential suitors for our stores,” added Earth Fare.
The inventory liquidation sales will feature a truly outstanding assortment of merchandise at very significant price reductions. We encourage shoppers to visit their nearby location now and take advantage of these savings before it’s too late. Store fixtures are also available for sale as part of this process.
I spent two hours just walking around Earthfare yesterday in the mountains of Boone North Carolina, Just listening to all of the customers and employees talk about the closing of their beloved Health Food Store. They had just gotten the word at 8 am that morning that the doors were closing. It reminded me of a movie , you may have seen it. “You’ve Got Mail!” and the closing of the little family owned bookstore called “The Shop Around The Corner.” It was something special. There was a great sadness in the voices of the people everywhere yesterday . This wasn’t just a grocery store. It was a family of people feeling connected to each other and learning to eat well and feed their families well and feel alive. It meant something. When you walked into the store you felt a sense of excitement in the air. The friendly people, the friendly voices, all coming together for a purpose, a purposeful mindset of taking charge of their health. We had only just begun. You ,Earthfare , were the beginning of the beginnings of this noble thing, this incredible thing that opened our eyes and gave us hope. You started something that we cannot just throw away without a fight. WE need you to carry us into the next generation. Our children and grandchildren will take this incredible thing you did and run with it. They need the chance, the opportunity . I know I speak for literally millions of people everywhere. Please help us find a way to keep the doors open. We need you. Sincerely, Cheryl Wheeler