Rogers Bros. distributor closing its doors
A longtime Galesburg business soon will close its doors. Rogers Bros., a wholesale food distributor, has agreed to sell the business and, sources report, is scheduled to close at the end of this month.
Bill Boydstun of Rogers Bros. Wholesale Inc., 470 E. Brooks St., confirmed earlier, "Yes, there's an agreement," to sell the business, but would not comment further because the deal has not yet been closed. He declined to identify the buyer and said the sale would close near the end of November.
An employee of Rogers Bros. said he received notice Friday that he is losing his job because of the sale. The employee furnished a copy of a letter Monday that he said was included with last week's paychecks.
According to the letter, dated Nov. 16, Rogers Bros. "signed a letter of intent to sell the business, with a closing date of November 30, 2007."
The caller said the business is being sold to Kohl Wholesale of Quincy, which was founded in 1873.
The worker said he did not contact the newspaper because of any problems with his employer.
"I don't want to seem like a disgruntled employee," the man said by phone on Monday. "They're a really, really fine company to work for."
Boydstun, one of the company's three owners, said Monday that Rogers Bros. has 31 employees.
"We did not do this without some serious and heart-wrenching consideration about the well-being of our employees," the letter from Boydstun and Sam Rogers said. "Many of you have been long, and some life-long, members of this 60 (plus) year-old business.
"You can see that our warehouse and equipment are old and, frankly, worn out. We do not have the resources to make the changes necessary to correct this huge problem. We wouldn't have made this decision if we felt it wasn't our last resort before we simply could not continue as a business in this community. We hope you understand this decision and will continue to do your job for these next few weeks," Boydstun and Rogers wrote in the letter addressed to "All Employees."
In an e-mail to The Register-Mail on Tuesday, a customer of Rogers Bros., who also requested anonymity, said he was told the news by an employee as a courtesy to be able to make other arrangements for supplies. The business person wrote that the employee told him sales people will keep their jobs, but the facility will be closed and warehouse, trucking and office personnel will no longer have positions.
Asked Tuesday if the facility would be closed, Boydstun said, "I don't know."
He had no other comment Tuesday.
The employee who called said a sign-up sheet was posted at Rogers Bros. for employees who wanted to be interviewed by the soon-to-be owners. Boydstun confirmed that on Monday.
Kohl Wholesale is a broadline distributor of fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy, fresh meat, frozen items, dry goods, disposables, kitchenware, equipment and cleaning supplies.
According to its Web site, Kohl "provides service to restaurants, hotels, supermarket delis, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, retail groceries, caterers, taverns and many other businesses within a 150-mile radius of Quincy. . . ."
Rogers Bros. in April sold R&B Distributing to Euclid Beverage of North Aurora.