Kroger to close Columbus bakery

411 jobs eliminated; Kroger blames outdated equipment and plant.

In the nine years COLUMBUS — that Joe Santry worked at Kroger’s bakery near downtown there were rumors that the grocer was going to shut the bakery down.

On Monday, those rumors became fact.

The Cincinnati-based company closed the bakery, eliminating 411 jobs and a Cleveland Avenue institution. The bakery, at 457 Cleveland, opened in May 1928.

“After evaluation of the equipment and layout of the plant, it became clear that the outdated layout and age of the equipment were no longer sustainable for us to remain competitive,” the company said in a statement. “Production at the plant will cease immediately and the process of decommissioning its operations is expected to take 60 – 90 days.”

“For as long as I’ve been working there, the old-timers would say they’ll close the place down any day now,” said Santry, who worked on the loading dock.

On Monday, Kroger gathered workers at the Greater Columbus Convention Center and gave them the news, telling them that “to keep competitive with the markets nowadays, we have to make some tough decisions,” Santry said workers were told.

“Some people were crying a lot,” he said. “It’s a bitter goodbye to people who you’ve worked with for years.”

There was little hint that something was up, Santry said.

Just last Wednesday, he interviewed for another job in the plant. But Friday night, work on the loading dock shut down early, which was unusual especially since some trailers weren’t full, he said.

Workers will be paid for 60 days before receiving severance based on years of service per their collective bargaining agreement with the company, Kroger said. The company also is encouraging workers to consider openings at other Kroger facilities.

Kroger said it plans to sell the four-story, 190,000-square-foot building on 3.3 acres.

The company said it will shift work from that plant to other production facilities or thirdparty suppliers.

Santry said the plant made bread, doughnuts, crackers, tortilla chips and flavored popcorn, often producing a pleasant sugary aroma that wafted through downtown.

Workers at the plant made more than $20 an hour plus overtime and differentials, wages that Santry said would be tough to match at other Kroger operations.

For now, he is looking at insurance policies and savings as a strategy to keep his family afloat.