The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in Bend closed Monday. 

The Bend Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurant closed permanently Monday, affecting 29 employees.

It was among three Oregon locations the chain closed on Monday.

“As a standard course of business, we continually evaluate the performance of our stores, using various criteria to ensure we are meeting the needs of our guests and our business,” Cracker Barrel stated in a corporate news release sent to The Bulletin. “With that, we are saddened that we have been unable to overcome the impact the pandemic had on our business and have made the difficult decision to close the Bend location.”

The chain, which has 660 locations in 45 states, also closed the Beaverton and Tualatin locations.

A call to the Bend store was answered with a recording announcing that the store permanently closed and that “to our Bend community that we are deeply saddened to announce this location has permanently closed.”

No notice of closure was filed with the state under the Worker Adjustment and Retaining Notification Act, which requires companies with 100 or more employees to notify affected workers 60 days in advance of the closure or layoff.

The company reported that its fourth quarter revenue growth was below expectations, driven by lower than anticipated travel volumes and fewer customers in the 65 and older age group. High gas prices and inflation were also cited in the Sept. 27 financial statement.

The Bend store opened in February 2019 at Robal Road Village, a shopping center on U.S. Highway 97. The Cracker Barrel opened in a space more than 10,000 square feet that included a porch. It seated 180 guests inside.

The corporate release said Cracker Barrel doesn’t take closing a store lightly and “our focus right now is in assisting our impacted employees during this transition.”

“We extend our sincere thanks to our employees who worked so hard to keep our fireplace glowing and to the guests who have dined with us, celebrated with us, and made us part of their community,” Cracker Barrel added in its statement.

Known for its comfort food, the restaurants also contained small stores that sold “nostalgic and unique products.”

This story first appeared in bendbulletin.com