Tedeschi Food Shops on Thayer Street will close Oct. 23, according to a sign posted on its front door earlier this week.
"We have lost our lease," reads the sign, which was posted Monday. Employees and the store's district manager declined to comment further on the reasons for the shop's closure or its future until they are granted permission from the Tedeschi Food Shops corporation. The manager said she expects a response from the corporate office within a week.
The Thayer Tedeschi outlet is part of a convenience store chain of about 200 stores founded in 1923, according to the company's website.
Tedeschi customers are now greeted with sparsely-stocked shelves and refrigerators, as the store has not re-stocked its merchandise in preparation for the closure.
Tedeschi's closing came as a shock to many students. "It's just surprising," said Zifan Yang '14. "I never really went to (Tedeschi), but it was always there."
Caryn Cobb '15 said Tedeschi is "the closest thing we have to a grocery store," and said she hopes another store opens up soon.
Other students were unperturbed. "I'm moving on," said Tom March '14.
Radhika Rajan '15, a one-time Tedeschi's customer, said she was not disappointed about the closing - she had always found the store "a bit sketchy."
But Alicia Hersey '15, who visited Tedeschi's "once a month" said she thought the closing was "a bummer for college students because it makes it seem okay for other places on Thayer to charge outrageous prices."
The closing of Tedeschi will "increase traffic" at Metro-Mart, another convenience store located on Thayer, said Amar Thapa, a Metro-Mart employee.
"If sales increase, then it's better for us," Thapa said.
Tedeschi is the larger of the two convenience stores, but Metro-Mart tries to keep its primarily student customer base supplied with "all the necessary items," Thapa said.
"Tedeschi's has always been straightforward, like a convenience store should be," Hersey said.
