The grocery part of Wolfe’s Market along Route 66 in Claremont, California, recently closed after 100 years because of declining business due to competition from bigger chains.
The Wolfe’s Market deli, kitchen and bakery will continue to run, but the grocery will be leased by a restaurant called the Meat Cellar later this year.
John D. Wolfe opened Wolfe’s Market in 1917 two blocks from its present site at 160 W. Foothill Blvd. (aka Route 66) — nearly a decade before U.S. 66 came into existence. He said he moved the short distance because he liked the view of the nearby mountains there.
The grocery closed May 19 after the business sold out most of its stock. The owner explained to the Claremont Courier why he shut it down:
For fourth-generation owner Tom Wolfe, the downsizing was a long time coming for a business that had seen a steady decline over the years.
“To have a small independent store in any metropolitan area is near impossible,” he said. “Trader Joe’s and Sprouts and Costco and Whole Foods and everybody else, they have so much buying power and I have zero buying power. We became somewhat irrelevant as a grocery store.” […]
“We have had competition in the past, and typically it’s a couple of down years then comes back,” he said. “We had a couple of down years, but it didn’t come back, it just continued to slide.”
The owner put out this video on Facebook on the grocery’s last day:
The Wolfe’s deli will be in the front part of the building, but 33 workers will lose their jobs because of the grocery’s closure, reported the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
Among the celebrities who have been regular customers at Wolfe’s Market included songwriter Leonard Cohen, rapper Snoop Dogg and guitarist David Lindley.
(Hat tip to Carol Aguillard; image of Wolfe’s Market in Claremont, California, by The Marmot via Flickr)