Vendors, Employees Say Sickles Owes Them Thousands Of Dollars

LITTLE SILVER, NJ — Many were stunned when Sickles Market abruptly announced Monday they were closing, with no warning other than a sign taped to the front door that read: "So sorry, we are closed. Further updates will be shared soon."

Founded in 1908, Sickles has been a luxury food market for decades, providing this upscale corner of Monmouth County with prepared foods, imported meats and cheeses as well as flowers and plants grown in-house in their nursery.

But by Thursday, at least one food vendor that worked with Sickles — plus an hourly employee — have come forward to say the market owes them thousands of dollars in bounced checks and unpaid wages. The hourly employee said some workers at Sickles have not been paid since January.

Bob Sickles, Jr., who inherited the market from his family that started it, responded to these allegations; read to the bottom of this article. He says the closure of their original Little Silver store is temporary, and vows to reopen.

2nd Lawsuit Against Sickles Market: Meat Vendor Says It's Owed $100K (March 18)

Additionally, Metrovation, the owner of the Anderson Building in Red Bank where Sickles operated a now-closed satellite market, sued Sickles on March 1, saying Sickles owes them more than $324,000 in unpaid rent. RedBankGreen reports their rent had recently accrued to $33,000 a month.

The vendor, a Manhattan-based fruit wholesaler, said Sickles owes them $19,000 from multiple bounced checks.

"Bob Sickles, Jr. issued two fraudulent checks to us, totaling $19,000," Tom Lombardo, co-owner of the fruit wholesaler (name of company withheld for privacy) said Thursday. "It is evident that he orchestrated this knowing the checks would bounce, leaving us in a precarious position."

Lombardo said his company first approached Sickles Market about five weeks ago, when they proposed providing the market with fresh fruit.

"Bob expressed interest and began placing orders for our produce," said Lombardo. "However, from the outset, we encountered issues with payment. Checks provided by Bob would frequently bounce, and payments were often delayed. Despite these challenges, we extended our trust to Bob, believing that he was facing temporary setbacks due to the closure of his other store (referring to when Sickles closed their Red Bank location in February). As a fellow family-owned business, we empathized with his situation and were eager to support him in any way we could, operating under the assumption of his honesty and integrity."

But Lombardo said Sickles gave his vendors no advanced notice he was going to simply shut his doors Monday. Lombardo said he only found out the market closed after his driver dropped off a fresh fruit shipment worth $7,000, despite the two prior bounced checks for $19,000.

"We delivered a shipment of fruit valued at $7,000, only to discover the closure without any prior notice. This irresponsible behavior has left us with a total loss of $26,000," said Lombardo Thursday morning. "Despite numerous attempts to reach out to (Sickles) for resolution, our calls have been met with silence — indicating a deliberate avoidance of accountability."

Lombardo alleges Sickles "deliberately issued us two fraudulent checks, aiming to maximize his gains at our expense."

Lombardo said his fruit company is small, owned by himself and his cousin. These unpaid debts: "Have had a profound impact on the lives of my family. The subsequent fall-out has had devastating consequences for our business, as these actions have significantly disrupted our operations."

Employee: Vendors stopped delivering; we have not been getting paid

The hourly employee, who worked at Sickles Little Silver for several years up until Monday's sudden closure, said many store employees "have not been paid since the middle of January."

It was the employee who contacted Patch to talk about "why the shelves were empty. No vendors would continue delivering to us."

"Bob approached the company (above, the fruit wholesaler) for product because we were cut off from all other vendors for non-payment," said the employee. "That's 100 percent why they said they had payment issues from the outset. No other vendors would deliver to us."

"A lot of us were frustrated with the lack of communication from upper management about what was going on with the business," said the employee. "There were people getting paid cash under the table that have not been paid since the middle of January. And the rest of the employees that got checks have not been paid since the beginning of February."

"My hourly pay was $18 an hour; they owe me two paychecks totaling about $4,000 including overtime," said the worker. "Like the vendor said, avoidance of accountability. We were supposed to get paid on the first of this month, but he pushed payment to the seventh. On the seventh, there was a meeting before the store opened and he said that we would not be receiving checks and that he himself didn't know when we would be receiving them ... A few weeks ago we got paychecks and some of my coworkers actually had their check bounce. When speaking to the accounting department they were met with hostility and closed doors."

Bob Sickles responds

Patch emailed the store Thursday and Sickles, Jr. did call us back. He said he was not going to answer any direct questions, but that he would read a statement. He mostly attributed his financial problems to his failed Red Bank expansion, and continued to express that Sickles Little Silver will reopen.

He also declined to answer when Patch asked Sickles if he would file for bankruptcy, so unpaid debts, staff and vendors can be paid. Here is the statement:

"The Sickles family has strived over the years to be a good employer, member of the community and responsible business owner. Unfortunately, because of devastating financial losses resulting from the failed expansion in Red Bank, we found ourselves in a dire and unexpected cash crunch. This caused us to have to not only shut down the Red Bank store, but also to temporarily close the Little Silver store. We have exhausted all available resources to pay amounts due to our employees and vendors, but are working diligently on avenues to obtain funding to pay the amounts due to employees and to attempt to resolve all vendor claims."

A clearly angry Lombardo referenced Sickle's 116-year-old history and respected position in the Monmouth County community.

"I find it difficult to comprehend how this market survived a significant economic downturn like the Great Depression, but faltered in its current state," said the vendor, who is now out $26,000. "It appears there may be undisclosed aspects of Bob's involvement that we're unaware of. While COVID-19 likely played a role, I also suspect mismanagement within the company contributed to its downfall."

2nd Lawsuit Against Sickles Market: Meat Vendor Says It's Owed $100K (March 18)

Sickles Market Just Closed Its Little Silver Location Too: Reports (March 12)

Sickles Market In Red Bank Closed; Thursday Was Last Day, Say Owners (Feb. 15)