Incomplete list of announced United States food supply shutdowns for the month of November, 2015: Many food suppliers/distributors are consolidating operations and killing jobs due to the collapsing grocery store and restaurant industries, as well as rising costs of food production, spread of disease and extreme weather.
British empire Canada based Tim Hortons shutting down dozens of restaurants in Maine and New York. News reports out of Maine said employees were shocked as two restaurants have already shutdown, without warning before the official announcement was made.
I have noticed a growing number of mainstream news articles praising corporations for “spreading the wealth” by donating food to the underemployed. You need to really pay attention to those articles because it’s not actually the ‘corporations’ that are doing the donating! Most of those food donations are being done by the EMPLOYEES of the corporations, or even by the general public when an employee of a specific corporation goes out asking for donations. Stop praising the elites who’ve caused our economic downfall!
The American Farm Bureau Federation reports record high prices for turkeys, blaming the bird flu outbreak. However, you consumers should be aware that almost all the turkeys packaged for this year’s Thanksgiving season were done so by March of this year, before the bird flu outbreak. In other words there is no shortage of packaged turkeys to justify jacking up the prices. The bird flu decimated millions of turkeys scheduled for packaging for the 2016 Thanksgiving season.
Recent studies prove that decades of federal government dietary advice pushing for high carb diets is making people fatter and fatter. One study showed that ‘Mericans are even fatter now that when the government started pushing those eating rules. Another study, used by the Wall Street Journal to blast ‘The Food Police’ in the White House, concluded that it is precisely the high carb guidelines that are making people fat. An article by Foreign Policy pointed out that Austrians eat more than ‘Mericans yet are nowhere near as fat.
A USA Today report found that most restaurant managers believe it is against the law to donate uneaten food. Wrong! In 1996 the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act made it legal to do so. I’ve worked for the restaurant industry many times in-between ‘real jobs’ and my experience is that it’s not really a legality issue but an evil attitude by corporate administrators. And it applies to other areas of the retail sector. That corporate attitude is that if you giveaway unwanted stuff then eventually your main customers will just wait around ’till you’re ready to throw the stuff out, instead of paying for it. While working at the Pine Ridge Mall I often saw clothing/shoe retailers and book retailers throwing away perfectly good products. They even went to great lengths to destroy those products before inserting into the massive trash compactors. When we mall rat employees asked why, every store manager gave us the same answer; it was corporate policy. The manager of the now defunct American Eagle even went as far to admit that the company got a tax write off whether they donated it or threw it away, and since the corporate execs were opposed to donations for fear it would actually reduce sales, it went into the trash! (This was how I knew decades ago that our economy was heading down the shit-hole. Every month I’d observe retail operations throwing away tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, every month! LITERALLY TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WORTH, PER RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT, EVERY MONTH!)
Alabama: Cool Beans Cafe + Bistro shutdown, the owners are moving ‘north’.
Arizona: In Phoenix, Paz Cantina being shutdown by property developers who want to build an apartment complex.
California: Because of covert austerity measures by state governments, non-profit food banks are struggling to keep up with the increasing number of people losing SNAP (food stamps), but now a University of San Diego Caster Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Research study blames the growing lines of hungry people on those stretched thin food banks! The study basically says non-profit food banks are not efficient! No shit sherlock! They are not making profits doing this and most of the food bank workers aren’t even paid, it’s 100% donations! It just shows you how screwed up the U.S. has become. An algae bloom has killed the Dungeness crabbing industry. The algae makes the crabs poisonous to eat. In West Hollywood, iconic Dominick’s restaurant shutting down after Xmas. News reports said the elites of Hollywood entered through the back, anybody who came in through the front door was kicked out. In Pleasanton, Albertsons-Safeway issued yet another layoff WARN, another 31 people being let go after Xmas. West Sacramento based grocery store Raley’s announced it will shutdown its Sacramento and Stockton stores, 114 jobs lost by December! In Los Angeles, Napa Valley Grill shutting down before Xmas, 86 jobs lost, the operator claims it’s temporary. Florida based General Mills Restaurants suddenly shutdown their San Diego Yard House restaurant, 110 people jobless! In Costa Mesa, after publicly blaming the greedy landlord Scott’s Restaurant finally issued a shutdown WARN saying 106 people will become unemployed by the beginning of January 2016! In Studio City, Grill Concepts restaurant is shutting down by January 2016, 49 jobs lost, however the operators claim it will be temporary. In Los Angeles, restaurant Greystone Manor issued a shutdown WARN saying 61 people will become unemployed by January 2016, however they claim it’s temporary. In Carlsbad, after 27 years the Armenian Cafe shutdown by a property developer who wants to build a hotel.
Colorado: Broomfield based Noodles & Company shutting down 16 restaurants! The ‘fast-casual’ ramen eatery lost $9.8-million USD in its 3rd quarter of 2015.
Connecticut: After 65 years Chick’s Drive Inn Seafood Restaurant shutting down as requested by the now deceased owner.
Florida: Planet Hollywood issued a shutdown WARN for its Disney Springs location, 468 people out-o-work by mid-January 2016! However, the overrated restaurant company claims the layoffs are temporary as they plan to build an expensive new restaurant inline with the new Downtown Disney attraction ( I don’t think those 468 employees can wait that long). West Palm Beach based ‘clean technology’ fertilizer maker BioNitrogen now chapter 11 bankrupt busted. The company hasn’t even finished construction on its first clean fertilizer factory! The company lost a $1.4-million lawsuit over unpaid debts.
Georgia: In Decatur, after 69 years Evans Fine Foods restaurant shutdown. After 12 years a greedy landlord shutdown the Bhojanic restaurant: “Unfortunately, our lease at this location has come to an end and we could not come to terms on a lease extension.”-Bhojanic facebook post
Idaho: Evil property renters are jacking up rents on farmers! The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Survey says the cost to rent non-irrigated farmland in The Gem State has gone up to $158 USD per acre (0.4 hectare), a 5% increase from 2014 to 2015. Irrigated farmland hit $208 per acre, an 8% increase! However, it was revealed that rent for farmland with a pivot irrigation system and strong water rights access was going for as much as $350 per acre! Here’s another whammy against farmers; the USDA said many of the current rental contracts were signed when commodity prices were high, this means farmers are actually paying rent so they can lose even more money for what they grow! In Pocatello, the Idaho FoodBank enlisted the help of police to control traffic. The number of hungry families in the area is so high this year that the Food Bank created its first ever drive-thru operations, which caused traffic problems. Local TV station KPVI described “Hundreds of cars were wrapped around South First Street and East Halliday…” Idaho FoodBank administrators said besides food they also gave out 1-thousand 5-hundred food vouchers in one day! 
For more proof the state government has failed with its SNAP (food stamps) allocations, fuel station Stinker Stores donated $20-thousand USD to the Idaho FoodBank, along with $50-thousand from customers of Stinker Stores.
Illinois: Yet again farm equipment maker Deere & Company (John Deere) eliminating hundreds of jobs. An additional 220 people will be let go from the Deere factory in Moline, starting in February 2016! Administrators continue to blame crashing sales to farmers. Food packager Tyson shutting down their Chicago hospitality food packaging plant saying the plant is too old and sales too slow to justify spending the money to update it. 480 jobs lost between now and October 2016! In Highland Park, after 30 years Ravinia BBQ & Grill shutdown. In Willowbrook, after 29 years Phillies Pizza shutdown. In Winnetka, after 24 years O’Neil’s Restaurant shutting down by January 2016. The owner is focusing on his other two restaurants because “We tried remodeling O’Neil’s and changing the menu but…it just ran out of gas.”
Indiana: The Hoosier State has adopted Idaho’s policies regarding SNAP (food stamps) and unemployment assistance. You can now lose your food assistance if you don’t meet requirements for unemployment assistance. News reports say an estimated 18-thousand 3-hundred people will lose their SNAP! Non-profit food banks are now saying what Idaho food banks said years ago, they won’t be able to handle the massive increase in people coming to them for food help: “We’re seeing 1,200 households a month, and if it goes up 50 families a month, that’s still 50 more jars of peanut butter.”-Elizabeth Kestler, Love Chapel food bank
Iowa: In Davenport, after 66 years Riefe’s Family Restaurant shutting down right before Xmas, 55 jobs lost. After 50 years the last Family Foods grocery store shutting down. Don Goetz, the co-owner of the Anamosa store, said “We hung on as long as we could, but we lost money for the last four or five years.”
Maryland: In Hagerstown, after more than 80 years (surviving the Great Depression and numerous recessions) Superior Ice Cream and Snack Bar shutting down after Xmas. The current owner blames financial reasons. After 61 years Bel Air Bakery shutting down in December saying they need “more time to care for ourselves”.
Massachusetts: In Somerville, after seven years Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project shutdown, the owners saying only “it’s time to draw the curtains and head off to a new adventure.”
Michigan: In Grand Rapids, a TGI Fridays restaurant was suddenly shutdown. In Howell, The Candy Bar shutting down in February 2016. The property owner refused to renew the lease, yet, local news reports say the property owner has no plans for the building.
Minnesota: In Baxter, after 36 years the Bonanza Steakhouse (I worked at one in Abilene, Texas, back in the 1980s before they switched to all-u-can eat buffet, and the management were idiots! they begged me not to quit because they knew the majority of their employees were lazy asses!) shutting down right before Xmas, 35 jobs lost. In Minneapolis, after 17 years Chiang Mai Thai restaurant shutting down right before Xmas. The owners did not want to renew the lease. In Saint Paul, the Glockenspiel restaurant shutdown: “At no surprise to us, we received a notice on 10.29.2015 from our Landlords the CSPS SOKOL MN that they will not renew our current lease that expires 12.31.2015. …Our last full day of business is today 11.22.2015.”
Nevada: In Fallon, after 26 years Country Health store shutdown.
New Jersey: In Montvale, after 90 years the DePiero family says they were forced by skyrocketing operating costs to sell-off their farm to evil property developers.
New York: In Maryknoll, Sodexo issued a shutdown WARN saying it lost the contract for the Dining Services at Catholic Foreign Mission ops, 38 people unemployed by January 2016. In Glen Cove, after 96 years (surviving the Great Depression and numerous recessions) restaurant Stango’s shutting down on New Year’s Eve. In Brighton, Mario’s Italian Restaurant shutting down before Xmas, blaming ongoing property development by commercial property developers. In Hamburg, Tina’s Italian Kitchen shutting down before Xmas. In Saratoga Springs, after 41 years Lillian’s restaurant shutting down after Xmas, the property is up for sale.
North Carolina: Piggly Wiggly shutting down their grocery store in Stantonsburg after Thanksgiving, blaming years of decreasing sales and increasing costs. After 18 years Tír na nÓg pub shutdown.
North Dakota: In Fargo, after 13 years Monte’s Downtown restaurant shutting down after Xmas, blaming competition.
Ohio: After 25 years the last Ponderosa Steak House in the Dayton area shutdown. The Texas based company told local news that if they recover financially then maybe they’ll return. One of three Servatii deli and bakeries being shutdown in December. Unnamed employees said the lease was not renewed.
Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh based Warren Buffett & 3G Capital owned Kraft Heinz shutting down 10 food factories in North America and killing off an additional 2-thousand 6-hundred jobs! The 2-thousand 6-hundred jobs reported as being lost must be ‘low balled’ because news reports out of Wisconsin say the Kraft-Heinz factory shutdown there will kill 1-thousand 2-hundred jobs! Sharon based NASCAR themed restaurant chain Quaker Steak & Lube bankrupt busted and being sold off at a loss for only $25-million USD. Court documents say the new owner will be TravelCenters of America. After 29 years Distelfink Bakery shutdown without warning: “We were struggling, and thought we had come to an agreement with attorneys and with the landlord, to stay current … plus pay the back rent. In the meantime, they went to court and got a judgment against us.”-Kate Berger, co-owner
After 37 years the owners of Mandy’s Place pizza joint blamed escalating crime for why they shutdown: “I sit at night and I worry that if that phone rings, this time somebody got shot…..Nobody held the meeting! They [mayor’s office] went on media and said they would and it never happened.”-Steve Negri, owner
Rhode Island: In Providence, after eight years Mediterreneo Restaurant shutdown, the corporate owners admitted they were made an offer for the property which they could not refuse.
Tennessee: Maryville based Ruby Tuesday announced it is selling eight Lime Fresh Mexican Grill restaurants, and shutting down another eleven! Administrators say the economy is forcing them to focus on their namesake brand.
Washington: In Gig Harbor, Sariah Spices & Teas shutting down after Xmas. The owner blames the A-hole city council which forced her to move her store’s signage, resulting in an immediate 10% reduction in business! She says she now doesn’t make enough money to justify renewing the lease.
Wisconsin: In Fon Du Loc, after only nine months Three Guys and a Grill shutting down. The owners said at first businesses was good then it suddenly stopped, no matter how many promotions they tried. News reports say the location (a former church) has established a bad reputation due to a string of failed restaurant attempts. Food packager Tyson shutting down their Jefferson pepperoni and salami packaging plant, saying the plant is too old and sales too slow to justify spending the money to update it. At least 4-hundred jobs lost between now and October 2016! In New Richmond, after five years Brady’s Brewhouse shutdown: “A business has to close when there is not as many sales as there are expenses. It is a bummer that we can’t keep going. We just didn’t have enough sales or customers to keep us open.”-Chris Polfus, owner
Local news reports say the Warren Buffett shutdown of the Kraft Heinz Oscar Mayer meat factory will kill 1-thousand 2-hundred jobs! Doug Leikness, the president of the employees’ union, stated “We’re doing very well…..Didn`t see it coming. We`ve increased productivity in this plant. We`ve done it with less workers, and now we`re getting the carpet pulled from underneath us. We just feel a big sense of betrayal from this company.”
WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification
U.S. Food Crisis, October 2015: “Oh my Gaawwdd!” “…30% of operators are insolvent.” “…I have to destroy the most important thing in my life.”