“We suffered from being chronically undercapitalized,” founder Zuleyka Strasner wrote in a March 4 tweet following the announcement.
Meanwhile, Kneaded Bakery owner Iliana Berkowitz told NBC Bay Area that the startup still owes her business around $5,000, and Starter Bakery’s Brian Wood told the station he’s owed $25,000 – the most out of the Bay Area businesses who are still owed money. Other businesses reportedly affected include Berkeley’s Boichik Bagels and Obour Foods in the Ferry Building.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, which first reported the news, the invoices typically range from about $800 to $5,000. (SFGATE and the Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but operate independently of one another.)
“I operate a relatively small business, in that I have around 20 employees. $5,000 is several people’s wages in a two-week period,” Berkowitz, owner of Kneaded Bakery, told NBC Bay Area.
“A lot of people are really outraged, you know. It’s a problem,” Emily Winston, owner of Boichik Bagels, told the station. According to NBC Bay Area, she checked her accounts and discovered that Zero Grocery owed her business just over $1,600 — or just over 800 bagels, she added.
Per the Chronicle, CMBG Advisors, a Los Angeles restructuring firm, told those who are still owed to file a claim by September. In the meantime, Strasner maintains that the money will be returned.