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Cookshop City Square - Permanently Closed

Went by the cookshop today and there was a sign, stating it was now permanently closed (but still fully stocked). Anyone know the details about this?

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  1. Haven't gone by. But I forgot to post this myself. Missus saw the closed store over the weekend and told me about it. Obviously it slipped my mind to post the news here. She said it looks from the outside that it was foreclosed, given all the inventory still sitting inside.

    1. The Cookshop has had it's door chained by City Square management due, presumably, to money owed. The store's stock will likely be liquidated at some point. Rough luck for the staff, who all lost their jobs without warning.

      7 Replies
      1. re: starvinartist

        Yeah, too bad. They were never a bargain place but had lots of interesting cooking stuff and a decent slate of classes which probably kept them going.

        I would have picked William Sonoma to close before them but deeper pockets will prevail.

        1. re: eatrustic

          I wonder about the longevity of Cookworks too.

          1. re: Anne M

            I hope this is not a trend, the little guys being forced out of the market by greater forces, the same way the independent bookstores experienced in the past decade or so.

            1. re: LotusRapper

              I can't see how they can compete with Amazon, cross-border shopping, and the big shops. To be honest tough, I rarely purchase cookware from these kinds of stores as the markup is pretty high.

              1. re: fmed

                Yeah, it's sad. I still shopped there occasionally. That had some baking stuff that other places in town didn't have as much as with. For bigger cookware I might buy from the states or the interwebs, but for small stuff I tend to buy most of my stuff from the local stores. I tend to be one of instant gratification. ;)

            2. re: Anne M

              Cookworks did a bang-up job with our recent wedding registry, a huge contrast from my friends' tales of woe from their registry dealings with the Bay. Let's hope they don't go under!

          2. re: starvinartist

            As someone who lives in the same 'hood as Cookshop, and who's taken half a dozen cooking classes there and bought the odd kitchen gadget from time to time, I *suspect* they've not been doing well for many years now. In fact I suspect it was the classes that sustained them more than strictly from sales on the floor. Over recent years it seemed as if their floor inventory got trimmed, and relatively few "new & innovative" items came in. Perhaps a victim of the recession plus online shopping, US shopping and/or rent hikes at City Square. The mall has always had a constant turnover of shops, although Cookshop has been there for at least as long as we've lived in the 'hood (since 1998).

            Let's hope the staff find timely employment elsewhere.

          3. I heard from an employee, from the Safeway across the way, that the inventory will be auctioned off. Don't know when but I assume that is why you still see things in there through the papered windows.

            1. I haven't been by the store but have heard that the sign says cooking classes will continue. Anyone know about this?

              1 Reply
              1. re: trixter

                Haven't heard anything. Devastating news. I have gift certificates for the store that I was just about to use. Was browsing for the store hours online when I came across this post. Hopefully I can use it for cooking classes...thanks for the post.

              2. The store was being emptied out today, as seen by Mrs. LR who was at Lennox's next door at the time.