Seattle-based Sur La Table closing stores, seeking bankruptcy protection
Photo credit: Q13 FOX
SEATTLE - Cookware and kitchen chain Sur La Table is closing 56 of its 121 stores as it seeks bankruptcy protection, the latest retail casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.
The privately-held Seattle-based company said that has agreed to sell the remaining stores to affiliates of Fortress Investment Group following the bankruptcy procedure and store closures. The post-sale company will also include its in-person and online cooking classes, and its e-commerce business.
“This sale process will result in a revitalized Sur La Table, positioned to thrive in a post COVID-19 retail environment,” said CEO Jason Goldberger.
RELATED: Businesses to turn away customers without face masks amid virus
Of the 56 locations being closed, 51 are having liquidations sales and will permanently close in eight to 12 weeks, a company representative said. The other five did not reopened after being shuttered at the outset of the coronavirus outbreak.
Sur La Table’s website says its stores that have reopened did so under local and federal guidelines related to COVID-19.
Sur La Table had its start in Seattle’s Pike Place Market in 1972.