The company described the shutdown as a retirement, thanking "our community of family, friends, employees and customers for your support for 49 years" and stating "the time has come to officially retire by closing our stores".
Company leadership said the announcement was delayed so executives could personally notify each employee before the news became public.
That plan did not fully succeed. Some employees who were on vacation or off duty learned of the closures through social media or secondhand accounts before the company could reach them directly. "To those employees, we apologize, that was never our intention," the company said.
The chain's two remaining stores, both in Modesto, California, close out the company's nearly 50-year run, which at one point included four stores operating simultaneously.
COVID Changed Everything
O'Brien's said in its statement that it weathered decades of change in the grocery industry, but that the COVID-19 pandemic marked a lasting turning point. The company said it successfully protected employees and kept customers supplied during the pandemic, but "never fully recovered" in other areas afterward.Leadership called the decision to close "the most difficult decision of all" following decades built around providing "fresh, unique, and quality foods.”
As part of the closures, O'Brien's is offering a storewide 25 percent discount through a "Customer Appreciation & Retirement Sale," excluding Starbucks items, gift cards, lottery tickets, stamps, custom cakes, sandwiches, online orders, custom deli platters, and hot food and salad bar items.