The economics in Portland, Oregon, have become so untenable for business that Cracker Barrel was forced to join Applebee's and Walmart in a mass exodus.
While Walmart has been hit by theft and shaky public safety concerns, Cracker Barrel is citing the post-pandemic economy as its reasons to close its Portland metro area locations, according to KPTV-12 Oregon.
"As a standard course of business, we continually evaluate the performance of our stores, using various criteria to ensure we are meeting the needs of our guests and our business," a Cracker Barrel spokesman said. "With that, we are saddened that we have been unable to overcome the impact the pandemic had on our business and have made the difficult decision to close the Beaverton, Tualatin, and Bend locations."
The spokesman did not mention crime as a reason for the struggling business, but myriad companies have been forced out of the riot-hit, Democrat-run city since 2020. Residents have fled the city due to a reported deteriorating of safety and living conditions, according to reports.
"The decision to close a store is never one we take lightly, and our focus right now is in assisting our impacted employees during this transition," the spokesman added. "We extend our sincere thanks to our employees who worked so hard to keep our fireplace glowing and to the guests who have dined with us, celebrated with us, and made us part of their community. We look forward to reconnecting with them at other times at nearby Cracker Barrels in the future."
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon predicted the mass exodus from the crime-hit city in December.
"Theft is an issue," he told CNBC. "It's higher than what it has historically been."
Some have suggested national chains leaving progressive Portland might be a cultural shift away from chains to mom-and-pop companies, according to The Oregonian, but The Green Zebra outlets in the city were created in that cultural mode and are shutting down after 10 years in business.
"We have been holding on by a thread since the pandemic started and have been in austerity mode since then," CEO Lisa Sedlar said in a statement, saying she had "fought the good fight" but cannot survive any longer. "We experienced nine straight quarters of increases to our cost of goods, packaging, fuel, insurance, taxes, freight charges, and, well, pretty much everything.
"Combine that with supply chain and staffing shortages and razor-thin grocery margins, we just couldn't overcome all the obstacles."
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