Editor’s Note: The Barometer decided to keep the employee in this story anonymous due to outstanding ties to Shari’s as an employee affected by the sudden closures.
Shari’s Cafe and Pies closed its Corvallis store alongside all other Oregon locations on Oct. 20, leaving employees blindsided and unemployed.
Shari’s was founded in 1978 and held multiple locations across the Northwest. Suspicions grew among customers and employees after weeks of unusual activity in Shari’s stores like out-of-stock items, a shortened menu and the removal of lottery machines.
“For years, there have been little things that have kind of been showing signs, just management not making the best decisions for the company,” said an employee who had been working at Shari’s for over three years. “Over the past six months, at least, it’s been very apparent that things were going downhill for good.”
“The warning signs were there, starting when they downsized the menu,” said Mason Gruebele, a regular at the Corvallis Shari’s, in a message. “We went a few days before they closed and they had zero pie or ice cream and were out of a laundry list of menu items.”
On Sunday, Sam Borgese, the CEO of Shari’s Management Corporation, Gather Holdings LLC, sent out an email notifying store management of the closure.
“We will be closing all remaining open Shari’s restaurants in the state of Oregon effective at 5 PM today, Sunday 20 October 2024,” the email stated.
Despite The Barometer’s multiple attempts through email and phone, management was unable to be reached.
“I personally was notified the day before that we were no longer going to be receiving or purchasing products, and then once we were out of products, we would be done, and we weren’t sure if that was going to be in the next week or the same day,” the employee said.
Corvallis Economic Development Manager Christopher Jacobs assured that the shutdown is not reflective of the local economy, but instead symptomatic of issues within the Shari’s corporation itself.
“Our internal tracking data seems to indicate that this (closure) is not indicative of a broader slowdown in restaurant activity for Corvallis or Benton County,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs also stated that he had no prior knowledge of the state-wide Shari’s closure.
Meanwhile, OSU alumni expressed their disappointment on social media.
“I loved the pie shakes more than anything – I’m from NY so when I attended OSU, everyone told me I had to go to Shari’s and get a pie shake,” said former OSU student Kate Godiers.
Godiers has fond memories of eating at the Corvallis Shari’s with her coworkers and roommates.
“It was always there and always open, it was a go-to when we didn’t know where to eat,” she added.
The unexpected closure is devastating for numerous employees, many of whom relied on Shari’s as their main source of income.
“It’s undoubtedly challenging and not a good situation for those who may have lost their jobs without much notice,” said Jacobs.
“All of my co-workers have children and families, and I think it will be difficult for them to find a new job,” the employee continued. “A lot of them are older, and so they don’t really want to get a job working in the kitchen industry. They planned on staying at Shari’s forever.”