All Benny’s locations to close

By: News Staff

Email: news@abc6.com

Twitter: @ABC6

SMITHFIELD, R.I. (WLNE) —After 93 years in the business, all Benny’s stores, in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Southeastern Massachusetts. will close.

All 31 locations will close at the end of 2017, owners announced on Friday.

Online retailers such as Amazon influenced the New England-wide closure; the current owners concerned that online retailers will threaten the ability for Benny to remain economically feasible in the future.

“As proud owners of Benny’s this is an emotional time for us,” said Arnold Bromberg. “Benny’s has been something the Bromberg family has invested enormous amounts of capital, time and energy in for nearly a century in this region. We take great pride in what our retail stores have meant to our employees and many loyal customers for so long. But it is simply time. Our current ownership is all at the age where we would like to retire from the business and spend more time with our families, and we have collectively judged that the always competitive retail landscape has shifted in a way that makes it almost impossible for small, family-owned chains like ours to reasonably compete moving forward.

The closure will impact the company’s 386 full-time and 329 part-time employees.

It’s not yet been determined what will happen to the physical store locations owned by Benny’s.

The closures are expected to happen gradually starting in the next several weeks, with the final closure happening by December 31st. 

© WLNE-TV / ABC6 2017