The coronavirus is forcing the permanent closure of all of the more than 40 units of the Specialty’s Cafe & Bakery chain, the company announced.
Tuesday will be the chain’s last day in business.
“Specialty’s Cafe & Bakery is closing after 33 years of business,” the Pleasanton, Calif.-based chain said in the announcement. “Current market conditions attributed to COVID-19 and shelter-in-place policies have decimated company revenues.”
The bakery-cafe concept had units in California, Illinois and Washington.
It had not been doing well pre-pandemic, according to data from Restaurant Business sister company Technomic. Same-store sales dropped more than 11% in 2019 from the year before, and the company shuttered eight units.
Specialty’s began in its founder’s garage in 1987.
It is one of a growing number of restaurants, both independents and chains, that have announced permanent closures or bankruptcies amid the pandemic.
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