A New Jersey market that recently closed is being sued for unpaid debts.
Sickles Market abruptly shuttered its longstanding spot in Little Silver in early March.
“It is with heaviest hearts that we have closed the doors on our 116-year-old business at this time,” a statement on Sickles’ website reads. “Hopefully we can come back, until then we thank you.”
The market, which was located at 1 Harrison Ave., started as a farm market over a century ago.
The company shut down its second store in Red Bank just weeks before the Little Silver closing.
“Unfortunately, because of devastating financial losses resulting from the failed expansion in Red Bank, we found ourselves in a dire and unexpected cash crunch. This caused us to have to not only shut down the Red Bank store, but also to temporarily close the Little Silver store,” owner Bob Sickles Jr. told Patch.
Former vendors and employees of the store are now claiming Sickles has yet to pay off debts.
- Metrovation, the owner of Sickles’ Red Bank location’s building, said Sickles owes over $324,000 in unpaid rent in early March.
- On March 14, a woman said Sickles sold her a $3,000 gift card weeks before the abrupt closings, seeking to be paid $2,500.
- Little Silver-based meat distributor Holiday Meats sued Sickles, alleging the company owes more than $100,000, on March 18.
- A day later, Manhattan-based fruit wholesaler claimed Sickles owed them around $26,000 in unpaid fruit deliveries.
- One of Sickles’ former employees said the market had not paid many of its hourly workers since January.
“We have exhausted all available resources to pay amounts due to our employees and vendors, but are working diligently on avenues to obtain funding to pay the amounts due to employees and to attempt to resolve all vendor claims,” Sickles Jr. told Patch.
Bottles by Sickles, which carries a variety of craft beer, is currently the company’s only store still in business. It is located in Red Bank.
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Christopher Burch can be reached at cburch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SwishBurch. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips/.