‘The final straw;’ Mikesell’s employee says company gave workers 10-day warning of closure

DAYTON — Just under a week after learning a historic Dayton company Mikesell’s would be closing its doors, a now-former employee opens up about the upcoming closure.

Chris Robinson told our team he’s a “pillar” at Mikesell’s.

“I basically see the potatoes before they even get cooked and I pick out the bad ones,” Robinson said.

>> Mikesell’s, iconic Dayton-based snack company, announces closure

He said workers were told the facility on Leo Street would be closing up shop at the end of the week, but Robinson said he quit after his shift Tuesday, a couple days shy of his last day. He said he quit after learning he wasn’t getting severance pay as part of getting laid off from the snack food company.

“I couldn’t deal with it no more,” he said. “And that was the final straw.”

Robinson said Mikesell’s pulled their roughly 65 workers into a group meeting last Tuesday to tell them they would all be out of work in 10 days. Mikesell’s went public with the news the next day, saying the company was closing its doors.

News Center 7 emailed Mikesell’s asking them to confirm the timeline Robinson gave us, but a spokesperson did not answer our questions. Instead, they sent us the same press release they sent last week announcing the closure.

>> Miami Valley community, lawmakers react to closure of Dayton-based Mikesell’s

Loyal customers and workers are all disappointed as a legacy company in Dayton shuts down after 113 years.

“They basically gave us 10 days and just let us go. So now, I have to start from the bottom and build myself back up,” Robinson said.

Mikesell’s has told us they’d like to sell their branding and intellectual property rights to another snack food company. That means there’s the potential for their products to stay on shelves with someone else making them, but as of right now, those plans have not been finalized.

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