Marie Callender's restaurants close without warning

DALY CITY, Calif. (KGO) -- Several Marie Callender's restaurants in the Bay Area shut down suddenly Monday. The company has filed for bankruptcy.

Carlos Cortez and Alphonso Torres have worked for years at the Marie Callender's in Daly City, making the pies and home-style meals the restaurant chain is known for. As of today, they are no longer employed.

"This store is closing right now, bye, that's it," said Torres. "I don't know what happened."

What happened is that Marie Callender's and corporate partner Perkins Restaurant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday. The company cited limited assets of $290 million and debts totaling $441 million. Bloomberg news reports the CEO warned of the corporation's struggles back in November, blaming sluggish consumer spending and increased commodity costs. Products like sugar, eggs, and coffee have been rising.

At least 13 Marie Callender's locations in California have closed including in Santa Rosa, Concord, Walnut Creek, Hayward and Daly City.

In all, 65 restaurants have closed nationwide, leaving 2,500 people out of work.

"Eleven years of working here and right now it's closing," said Torres.

A spokesperson for Marie Callender's provided this statement to ABC7: "Closing a restaurant is always an extremely difficult decision to make. We are very grateful to the employees and local communities for their support and patronage over the years."

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daly city, jobs, bankruptcy, business, carolyn tyler

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