On Monday, a letter was distributed and circulated social media sharing the sad news of the store’s closure.

NSW state manager David Scally said the over saturation of other supermarkets had sealed the infamous supermarkets fate.

“We opened here in December 2004, so it’s been around for nearly 14 years. But the business has been here for many years before that as an independent supermarket,” he said. 

“We’ve come to the end of our lease, and multiple supermarkets have popped in the area. “Unfortunately, it’s come to the point that the business isn’t viable. It’s very sad.

“We’d like to thank our loyal customers for all their support, and many have been shopping here for over 35 years.”

The Rutherford Shopping Centre based store has about 25 staff on the books, including 11 full time equivalent employees. 

“We want to thank the staff for their efforts to keep the business afloat,” Mr Scally said.  

“I would like to add all permanent full-time and part-time team members have been offered positions at other stores, and we certainly are hoping they take up those offers.”

There are still Ritchies IGA stores in the Hunter Valley including Kurri Kurri, Cessnock, Singleton, Broadmeadow and a new store at New Lambton. 

“We are building a brand new store in New Lambton and still have our Kurri, Cessnock and Singleton stores so we are still very prominent in the Hunter Valley,” Mr Scally added. 

“Ritchies is in embedded in the community, and we plan to be around for a long time.” The store will cease trading in January 2019.