Shutting down.
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A 30-calendar year-previous South Carolina bakery that released a main expansion nearly two decades in the past has submitted for bankruptcy and shut, leaving extra than 200 people out of function.
The Muffin Mam closed its 100,000-square-foot plant in Laurens on Wednesday just after filing for bankruptcy in federal courtroom Tuesday.
In an emailed statement, the enterprise blamed the “ongoing results of Covid-19.”
Individual bankruptcy court docket filings show the corporation owes virtually $6 million to 189 collectors. When the enlargement to Laurens was announced, it was believed to be a $18.8 million investment decision.
A person secured creditor, Pinnacle Financial institution, is detailed in the personal bankruptcy filing, but it does not say what is owed. The some others are unsecured collectors.
Among the the creditors are Greenville and Laurens county tax agencies and the IRS. Among the the biggest unsecured collectors are Atlantic Company, owed $600,760 Hardman Distribution, $591,400 JWC Engineering, $447,447 and Resourceful Baking Remedies, $382,750.
Creditors run the gamut of firms this kind of as janitorial providers, insurance policy corporations, staffing businesses, septic devices, blueberry and egg cooperatives and technological know-how organizations.
Todd Littleton, chief executive officer of The Muffin Mam, mentioned in a news release, “After Muffin Mam commissioned a new facility in early 2020, preliminary lockdowns associated to the pandemic considerably minimal buyer interactions, which negatively impacted new revenues.”
He also claimed the company had difficulties finding supplies and employing skilled labor.
“While we are deeply upset in this final result, we sincerely want to thank our staff, shoppers, and suppliers for their tireless initiatives about the earlier 2 many years in our struggle to endure,” he said.
Baker Stephanie Croley started The Muffin Mam as a small cafe in Greenville in 1990. She chose the identify in a nod to a beloved nursery rhyme “The Muffin Person.” Within two yrs, Croley expanded into the wholesale bakery industry, and in just one more year gross sales amounted to a 50 %-million bucks.
The corporation then bought a facility in Simpsonville. Croley died in 2014, and the corporation was acquired by Azalea Money, a Greenville expense firm, a handful of decades later.
This tale was initially released November 11, 2021 10:44 AM.