Fresh & Green’s in Charles Plaza to close Dec. 29

The Fresh & Green’s supermarket in Charles Plaza will close Dec. 29, laying off 40 employees — many of whom had been rehired after the old Superfresh at the same location closed two years ago, company officials said Monday.

The 10,500-square-foot market at 222 N. Charles St. opened in July 2011 after the Superfresh shut its doors amid a corporate restructuring blamed on the economic downturn.

Fresh & Green’s closing is part of a corporate downsizing of six grocery stores in the Maryland and District of Columbia area, said Anne Burns, a consultant for the Natural Markets Food Group, parent company of Fresh & Greens, based in Irvington, N.Y.

A total of nearly 250 employees will be impacted, Burns said.

Other locations in Maryland — all former Superfresh stores — include Chestertown, Arnold, Brunswick and Cambridge.

Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, a nonprofit business group, said he was unaware of the closing until Monday afternoon.

“It sounds to me like it was a business model that didn’t work out for the parent company,” Fowler said.

Fowler said he had spoken with officials of Southern Management Corp., landlord of the downtown store, on Monday, and said they told him that internal sales figures posted recently had been strong. Fowler said the landlord set out this week to seek a new grocer.

“Hopefully there will be a temporary impact and they will find a new operator soon,” Fowler said. “Having a grocery store within walking distance of buildings has been a tremendous asset — a lot of people depend on the store, both residents and employees who work nearby.”

The 2010 U.S. Census figures showed 4,000 residents living in the downtown area, and more are expected as apartment units are being built in former office and commercial space, Fowler said.

Burns said corporate officials had been negotiating all day Monday with representatives of the United Food & Commercial Workers union, which represents a majority of employees at Fresh & Green’s.

“This was a very difficult business decision,” Natural Markets Food Group CEO Robin S. Michel said in a statement.

“Since the Natural Markets Food Group acquired Fresh & Green’s we have worked diligently to create a sustainable business model for the stores. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, the stores remained unprofitable.”

“Closing stores is never easy, given the impact on employees and the communities they serve … but there are times when it is necessary, and this is such a time,” Michel said.

“We’ve reached the point at which continuing to operate these stores does not make financial sense for the company. We are very appreciative of the work done by the employees who have worked at the Fresh & Green’s store locations, some for many years, and we pledge our commitment to provide assistance to them.”