Chip City closes for good, as the Queens-born cookie chain shut its 22 remaining stores at the close of business on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, and blamed falling sales and a lack of funding. Chip City closes all stores only days after co-founder Peter Phillips sued the company, and the legal dispute covers unpaid severance and also health coverage. The Chip City store closures hit every shop that was still open, a far cry from Chip City’s 45 stores at its peak.
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Chip City Store Closures, Legal Dispute And Financial Trouble
Phillips and Teddy Gailas opened the first shop in Astoria in 2017, and Enlightened Hospitality Investments later put $17.5 million into the chain. Chip City’s 45 stores once spread nationwide, the Queens Daily Eagle reported, but the count was down to 39 by July, according to QSR Magazine. Right now, Chip City closes the book on all of it.
Inside The Email To Employees
Chip City closes out its run with one email from president Nicolas Baizan, sent to staff on Oct. 1.
Nicolas Baizan said this in the email to employees:
“After almost 10 years of passionately serving our loyal customers, we have decided to cease all store operations. This means our 22 remaining stores will permanently close at close of business today. I am sorry to share that today will be your last day as a Chip City employee.”
Chip City closes its doors, and the company had this to say in a statement:
“Despite extensive efforts to stabilize our business in the face of significant macro-economic headwinds, we have made the very difficult decision to close all of our Chip City locations.”
The Chip City store closures came with almost no notice for staff.
Founder Peter Phillips Sues The Company
Chip City closes all stores, but the case Phillips filed on Sept. 28 is still alive. The suit, which also names Baizan and former interim CEO Fred LeFranc, says the company agreed in March to pay him $157,500 and also cover his family’s health insurance through year-end.
His pay stopped on Sept. 18, the suit says, and the company would only restart it if he handed over four web domains and signed documents for over $640,000 in SBA loans he guaranteed. That demand is a big part of the Chip City legal dispute.
What Comes Next For Chip City Staff
Chip City closes with a few loose ends still out there. On Friday, police showed up briefly at the Upper West Side shop on Columbus Avenue, West Side Rag reported, and the NYPD said surveillance footage showed two people walking into the store and leaving with an unknown amount of money. Police have not made any arrests so far, and the theft came just a day after workers learned that Thursday was their last shift, so it was a really rough couple of days for the brand all around.
The store closures also leave staff with pay that reportedly runs only through Oct. 18. Chip City and Phillips’ attorney did not respond to the Queens Daily Eagle’s requests for comment, and at the time of writing, the Chip City legal dispute is far from settled. Back when Chip City’s 45 stores stretched nationwide, few would have guessed that Chip City closes all stores with just one email.