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Treasure Island Foods stores will close in less than two weeks, as Chicago's long-standing family-owned business closes amid fierce competition for consumer purchases.
"Everything must disappear!" a sign at the Gold Coast store shouted. "Nothing is retained!" read another. "All final sales." Many items were on sale and signs near the checkout indicated, "Do not pay with checks."
Employees were informed that all their sites will be closed by October 12th. A message to employees of Treasure Island CEO Maria Kamberos said, "We made the very difficult decision to shut down our business as a company.
"We have done everything in our power to try to put the company on solid ground to try to function for another 55 years," said Kamberos, according to the memo addressed to employees. "Unfortunately, given the current conditions of the sector, it has been impossible for us to continue operating without losing money."
Treasure Island employees were summoned one-on-one Friday afternoon and received the news before being distributed to hundreds of store employees.
Treasure Island does not offer severance benefits, allowances for paid leave or benefits beyond Sunday for its employees, according to a former employee. Most of the company's employees were fired on Friday, including those who had been working for the company for over 40 years. The former employee said that there was "a lot of crying, yelling" at the office after the announcement of the news.
"Completely shocked, upset and deeply hurt," said the former employee of the company.
Christ Kamberos Jr., president of Treasure Island, did not return calls and text messages on Saturday and Sunday. CEO Maria Kamberos also could not be contacted. Officials at several Treasure Island establishments declined to comment on the store's closure and referred the Tribune to the company's head office, which did not ask for comments.
Treasure Island is the latest victim of the highly competitive Chicago food industry. It will probably not be the last. After Dominick closed in 2014, many newcomers entered the city to compete for market share – a proliferation that has only recently reached a critical point. At the same time, growth in online grocery sales and deliveries has also put pressure on retailers.
On Saturday night, local customer Clarisse Perrette focused on happier moments for Treasure Island, as when she lost her wallet at the Gold Coast store and that staff quickly found and returned it. , without missing anything. For this, she wrote a letter of recommendation to the CEO.
"I tend not to have too much emotion about my grocery store, but it was very surprising," said Perrette, who has been shopping at Treasure Island stores for a decade. .
But Saturday, things were different, she admits. The staff, generally friendly, seemed removed and the stocks seemed leaner. When she asked an employee where a favorite yoghurt was, she was told that her stock was out of stock – the staff had told her that October 12 would be the last day of the store.
"Treasure Island was a staple," Perette said. "This neighborhood is not saturated in grocery stores – everyone I know who lives in the neighborhood is going to Treasure Island."
Treasure Island, a local European-style supermarket chain selling domestic and imported foods, has six locations.
Treasure Island was founded in 1963 by Christ Kamberos Sr., who died in 2009, and his brother Frank Kamberos. The wife of Christ Kamberos Sr., Maria Kamberos, is the CEO of the company.
Morgan Greene of Chicago Tribune contributed to this story.
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