Then there was only one. Fishers Foods to close Tuscarawas Street W location

PERRY TWP. ‒ After six years of retreating, 90-year-old Fishers Foods is down to its last store.

A longtime grocery institution that had seven locations in Stark County in 2017, Fishers announced its store at 4401 Tuscarawas St. W near Whipple Avenue NW will close Feb. 2. The company estimates it's operated there for more than 70 years.

The location at 5215 Fulton Dr. NW in Jackson Township will be its only store.

Fishers' Vice President Alex Fisher, 35, great-grandson of founder, indicated the family reached a consensus to pull the plug on the Tuscarawas Street W store because of disappointing sales volumes.

He declined to say when the family reached its decision. In addition, the Fulton location has a wholesale liquor license and the Tuscarawas Street W location did not. And the corporate offices are based at the Fulton location.

Related: Fishers Foods set to close another grocery store

“It's a tough decision for the family. That’s the last thing we want for the future and our employees. But within 90 years, a lot has changed," said Fisher. “It’s a business at the end of the day. It’s a numbers game. If the volume’s not there, we’re a high volume retail establishment."

In a statement issued Friday, Fishers Foods cited the dominance of national grocery chains, "supply-chain issue," inflation and challenges hiring employees as contributing factors.

Effects of Fishers Foods latest store closure

Fisher said his family is not contemplating a company sale at this time.

The Tuscarawas Street W location has 34 employees. One is a manager and 33 are members of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 880, Fisher said.

Fisher said he met with the store's employees Friday morning to break the news. Hours later, Fishers released a statement to the media.

Fisher said he's in discussions with the union. And he's not ready to announce what type of severance packages, if any, would be offered. Nor could he say how many of the store's employees would be offered positions in Fishers' Fulton location, which he said is short-staffed.

Fisher said he's also not yet ready to announce what happens to the building and property on Tuscarawas Street W.

A woman who picked up the phone at United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 880 said the union rep for Fishers Foods and the union's director of communications would not be available for comment until Monday.

Winding down Fishers Foods Perry location

The Tuscarawas Street W store had less than 10 vehicles Friday evening in the snow-covered parking lot.

"It's a sad thing. My family's been coming to Fishers for ever since I was a kid. And it's just sad to see it close. So, they're always pretty stable in the community. Sad to see it go," said Tito Guidone, 52, of Canton, who was unloading groceries outside. "Kind of grew up liking Fishers. Kind of stayed loyal to it."

Guidone said he once shopped at the Fishers that used to be on Harrison Road SW but shopped at the Tuscarawas Street W location the past 20 years. Guidone said the Fulton location is too far away for him so he'll probably shop more at Marc's and the Giant Eagle on Raff Road SW.

"I'm sad the fact that it's closing because I've been a loyal customer. But I can understand because they can't stay competitive with like Costco and Meijer's and all the prices," said Charlotte Tustin, 70, of North Canton. "So I can understand why they're closing."

Tustin said she shopped at Fishers despite the prices because, "We've done it over time and we're loyal to Fishers. It's kind of like a loyalty thing."

New revitalization plan for Fishers Foods

The company indicated it's working on a yet-to-be disclosed strategy to bolster its last remaining store against the intense competition.

After years of battling Giant Eagle, Acme, Walmart, Marc's and Aldi's, Fishers also had to reckon with the arrival of Meijer in Jackson Township in 2022. As Fishers has shrunk, it's less able to negotiate lower prices that grocery chains with far greater size can.

"Throughout its 90-year history, Fishers has re-invented itself as market conditions changed and to keep up with the needs of the community," its statement said.

"The team at Fishers is preparing to do that again with plans in development for enhancements and expanded offerings at the Fulton location to make it something truly unique for the Canton community. As one chapter is closing, we are excited to unveil a unique food and beverage experience. ... We are going back to our roots to ensure the best local shopping experience leading with quality, customer service and competitive pricing,"

Fisher said he could not elaborate on those plans at this point.

"We are working diligently to ensure there's a Fishers for the future. That future will look different but we plan on being here for quite some time.”

The company has lasted at least four generations after Joseph E. Fisher founded a grocery store at Navarre Road and Garfield Avenue SW in Canton.

After expanding to seven stores, Fishers closed its Plain Township location at 4403 Cleveland Ave. NW in July. It had closed its other Plain Township location near North Canton at 8100 Cleveland Ave. NW in January 2022. In 2018, Fishers had closed its two Canton stores at 1365 Cherry Ave. NE and 1272 Harrison Ave. SW and Massillon store on Lincoln Way E.

Fishers said the store hours for the Tuscarawas Street location will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily from Jan. 22 until the company sells all existing inventory. Subject to exclusions, items at the store will be initially discounted 20% before they're discounted further.

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter: @rwangREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Fishers Foods to close Perry Township store leaving 1 remaining store