According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN Act, filed with the state, Cole’s Quality Foods closed its Muskegon facility on Lakeshore Drive on September 10th. Cole’s CEO Jonathan Kawaja said that the company expects the closure to be permanent.
The company also has a production facility in North Liberty, Iowa, but it remains unclear if that factory will be affected by the closure.
According to a statement from the City of Muskegon, the 175 impacted employees will receive pay for 60 days beyond the closing date. Office staff will remain at the facility to complete administrative work for the next several weeks. The building will officially close on November 9th.
The closure comes less than a year after the Devon family sold Cole’s to Ontario-based Furlani Foods.
Cole’s was founded in Muskegon in 1943 as a neighborhood bakery. The Devon family bought the company in 1979. Scott Devon’s father, Wes, invented frozen garlic bread in the 1970’s.
The city says it currently has no information on the future of the physical facility but will be connecting with Furlani Foods to discuss next steps.
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