Kroger closes local bakery, axing 411 jobs

In the nine years 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 Cincinnatibased 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“After evaluation of the equipment and layout of the plant, it became clear that the outdated layout and age of the equipment were no longer sustainable for us to remain competitive,” the company said in a statement.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, 29, who worked on the loading dock.

Early 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.

“Some people were crying a lot,” he said. “It’s a bitter goodbye to people who you’ve The Kroger bakery, at 457 Cleveland Ave. near Downtown, had been open since May 1928. worked with for years.”

There was little hint that something was up, Santry said. 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 third-party suppliers.

Santry said the plant made bread, doughnuts, crackers, tortilla chips and

flavored popcorn, often producing a pleasant sugary aroma that wafted through Downtown.

For the Columbus economy, the closing is about more than the loss of 400 valuable manufacturing jobs, said economist Bill Lafayette, owner of the economic consulting firm Regionomics.

For every lost manufacturing job, there is typically a loss of two or three other jobs, he said.

“Just the age of the building or the age of the equipment and fact they have to repair it more often makes it significantly more expensive to operate there vs. someplace else,” he said.

Other big bakeries in the region have struggled in recent years. The Wonder Bread bakery in Italian Village closed nearly 10 years ago, and Wendy’s sold its Zanesville bakeries in 2015.

Santry acknowledged that the equipment was old and that the bakery, spread over two buildings, was not as efficient as modern bakeries that all are on one floor.

Still, workers are frustrated that the company, which has been making big investments in its stores for such things as its Scan, Bag, Go program, isn’t doing the same for them, Santry said.

“It’s in pretty poor taste. A company that has its roots in Ohio is choosing not to reinvest in over 400 employees right here in Ohio. That hit home for me,” he said.

Santry and his wife have a 6-year-old and a 4-year-old, and his wife is going to school, making him the sole supporter of his family right now.

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

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

“I’m living in reality and getting over the shock at the same time,” he said.