Earth Fare to close all 50 stores

Earth Fare, the authentic specialty natural and organic grocery store and full-service supermarket, announced today the company will start inventory liquidation sales at each of its 50 storefronts. 

All Earth Fare employees have been notified of the impending closure of the company’s stores and corporate office, according to Earth Fare officials. In the immediate future Earth Fare will pursue a sale of assets, in whole or in parts.

“Earth Fare has been proud to serve the natural and organic grocery market, and the decision to begin the process of closing our stores was not entered into lightly,” said an Earth Fare spokesperson. “We’d like to thank our Team Members for their commitment and dedication to serving our customers, and our vendors and suppliers for their partnership.”

During the past few years, Earth Fare has implemented numerous strategic initiatives aimed at growth and expansion while enhancing the consumer experience.

“While many of these initiatives improved the business, continued challenges in the retail industry impeded the company’s progress as well as its ability to refinance its debt,” the spokesperson added. “As a result, Earth Fare is not in a financial position to continue to operate on a go-forward basis. As such, we have made the difficult, but necessary decision to commence inventory liquidation sales while we continue to engage in a process to find potential suitors for our stores.”

Company leaders said the inventory liquidation sales will feature “a truly outstanding assortment of merchandise at very significant price reductions.”  Shoppers are encouraged to visit their nearby location immediately to take advantage of these savings. Furthermore, store fixtures are also available for sale as part of this process.

Earth Fare opened 45 years ago in 1975 as Dinner the Earth in Ashville, NC as the city’s first health food store. Their mission was simple and still applies today: offer real food to enable people to regain control of their own health. That first 1,200 square foot store front offered a slim selection of organic dried bulk goods and wellness products. Today, Earth Fare reached 50 stores and continued to demonstrate its commitment to enabling consumers to adopt healthier lifestyles. In fact, the company took the lead and set industry standards by banning artificial sweeteners and sucralose and high fructose corn syrup in 2001 and 2008, respectively.