Popular cookie chain Chip City abruptly closed all of its locations without any warning for its employees, leaving hundreds now jobless.
The chain had multiple shops around New York City, New Jersey and Texas as of earlier this week. But all have since closed closed their doors for good.
Some customers said it may be a sign of the times, as that’s the way the cookie crumbles in a tough economy.
“That’s terrible – but I guess $5 cookies with the economy the way it is, that may be part of the problem,” said Ericka Sullivan, who said she had just visited the Hoboken location earlier in the week.
The news came as a surprise to customers and employees alike. The company was founded in Queens and quickly expanded nationwide, with the cookies taking social media by storm.
“I can get a cookie somewhere else but for the people who make a living here, you don’t expect that. So sudden,” said customer Harrison Kaye.
Chip City did not publicly confirm a shut down until early Friday afternoon. In a statement, the company said, “despite extensive efforts to stabilize our business in the face of significant macro-economic headwinds, we have made the very difficult decision to close all of our chip city locations. We are grateful to our dedicated employees and loyal customers who have supported us for the past 10 years.”
In late September, a lawsuit was filed in New York by the former CEO over a money dispute, though it was not clear if that was connected in any way to the recent developments.
In a statement on Friday, the law firm representing the former CEO said: “Although our client has not been part of ownership for some time, he is shocked at what happened to a company that he and his friends had put together.”