Despite Rumors & Bare Shelves, Gordy’s Manager Says Store is Not Closing in Shell Lake

SHELL LAKE, Wis. — As the saying goes: “The writing is on the wall”. In the case of the Gordy’s in Shell Lake, the writing may be on the shelves.

Rumors have been spreading throughout the community for several months, but it wasn’t until just this week where rumors circulated about Gordy’s officially closing soon and that employees had been given a 2-week notice.

However, when we called the Shell Lake Gordy’s manager yesterday, Monday, August 28, 2017, the manager stated to us that she was not aware of any such closing and categorically denied the rumors - including any two-week notice being given to employees.

Attempts by DrydenWire.com to reach Gordy’s corporate office for comment were unsuccessful.

When we visited the Shell Lake location today, we only located one employee and many of the store shelves were up to 70% empty.

Gordy’s locations have been closing all across our area and according to reports, the employees have been the last ones to know.

A report from WQOW out of Eau Claire, WI, states that an $86 million lawsuit has been filed by Minnesota-based Nash-Finch against Gordy's. The lawsuit is claiming that Gordy's is insolvent, which means that Gordy's owes more money than it is worth.Court documents filed state that Gordy's entered into an agreement with Nash-Finch, in December 2015. Following that, Nash Finch advanced Gordy's over $41 million to allow Gordy's to refinance debt obligations. In May 2016 another advance was made specifically to the Hayward, WI Gordy's location to allow them to purchase inventory. Nash-Finch states in their lawsuit that Gordy's failed to make timely payments and all agreements have now been terminated.

One source, who would only speak to DrydenWire.com under the condition of anonymity, said that vendors have now been instructed to no longer deliver to the Shell Lake location.

Only time will tell the fate of Shell Lake’s Gordy’s location, but given Gordy’s recent history, we will know the same time the employees do; the day of the closing.