Blaming an impending Connecticut minimum wage increase and other factors, ShopRite said its West Hartford supermarket will close just before Thanksgiving.
Upwards of 134 employees could be without work when the 46 Kane St. store, owned by Joseph Family Markets LLC, closes its doors.
A spokesperson said Monday that some of the store’s associates will be offered positions in the owner’s Canton store, and that management is helping inform workers about other open positions at other ShopRite stores in the region.
ShopRite’s retailer-owned cooperative, New Jersey-based Wakefern Food Corp., issued a statement, first reported Sunday, citing a “challenging business climate for a family-owned and -operated store.”
“In spite of our competitive pricing, large assortment of foods and products and excellent service provided by our dedicated associates, we have struggled to make the store profitable,” the company’s statement said. “Factors such as rising costs, regulations and the new minimum wage increase contributed to the difficult decision to close our doors on November 26.”
Connecticut’s minimum wage will increase Oct. 1, from $10.10 to $11, the first step in a five-year increase to $15 per hour.
Besides that, there is a new 1 percent meals and beverages tax, and 10 cent fee on plastic bags.
It wasn’t immediately clear what might come of the West Hartford real estate.
Wakefern also includes Price Rite Marketplace and several other brands. Its members’ 352 stores across 10 states booked sales of $16.5 billion in their 2018 fiscal year, an increase of 1.6 percent from 2017.
