‘My head is just spinning,' customers with thousands at stake react to kitchen company closure

Wren Kitchens, a major kitchen cabinet retailer with showrooms in Milford and Newington and sixteen other smaller locations in Connecticut, abruptly closed Thursday. Some of these locations existed inside Home Depots. Customers and employees both said the closure occurred without warning.

“We paid them with a check, and they cashed it. And so they have all of our money. They have over $23,000 from us, and we don’t know what’s going on,” said Melissa Dethlefsen.

She said she learned about the closure from her contractor, Tim Cornelio, a week before her new kitchen was scheduled to be installed.

“I’m pretty close with all the designers and the store managers and I got a call later in the afternoon and one of the managers told me they just they had a big meeting… and they basically informed everybody that they were shutting down the operation,” Cornelio said.

Cornelio said he is waiting on seven or eight kitchen shipments from Wren to arrive for various clients but said he can’t get answers from employees because they told him they’re locked out of the computer system.

On Thursday, Wren Kitchen’s website displayed a message: “Our showrooms and studios are now closed.” The website offered a contact form for customers, suppliers, and employees.

NBC Connecticut Responds tried to reach Wren Kitchens on Thursday and Friday via email and the website’s comment form, but the company has not replied, and our email bounced back.

Meanwhile, Dethlefsen’s kitchen sits empty.

“They’re a multi-million dollar business, and to just shut down and not inform customers who are expecting orders. It’s just jarring,” said Dethlefsen.

Gloria Dorau from Southington said her kitchen is currently gutted as she also waits for a cabinet delivery next week. She said she spent over $20,000.

“My head is just spinning. And I know my husband is very upset about it,” said Dorau.

Dorau bought her new kitchen at one of the Home Depot locations and said she went there on Friday. She said the Home Depot employees couldn’t provide her with any answers.

A spokesperson for Home Depot confirmed to NBC Connecticut that Wren Kitchens had closed all its Home Depot locations and said concerned customers should contact Wren Kitchens directly.

“We had no previous notice of Wren’s intent to close, and we’re actively evaluating how this has affected Wren customers to help those who may have questions or issues. For questions about operations, please contact Wren directly.”

Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) told NBC Connecticut Responds that they are investigating the sudden closure. DCP recommends that customers of Wren send a written letter by certified mail to the location where they made their purchase. In that letter, the customer should request that a refund be made not later than 10 days after the date they send the letter. That date should be included in the communication, and consumers should use the tracking information on their certified mail to ensure the letter was delivered.

If consumers do not receive their refund or have other issues or complaints regarding Wren, they can email DCP.Investigations@ct.gov.

Employees of Wren Kitchens said they were just as surprised as their customers to hear the company was closing.

Madison Cohen of New Haven was a full-time kitchen designer for the company and said she was in a meeting with a client at their Milford location when she got the news.

“Our manager kind of comes, and just kind of grabs us out of the blue… we go outside, and he kind of tells us, like, oh, we all just lost our jobs. Our company is shut down,” she said.

Cohen said she was told the entire U.S. operation was being closed.

“At first, me and my coworker [were] kind of just like, looking at each other, [thinking]… this doesn’t feel real. I mean, we’ve worked there for so long,” she said. “Nobody knew about it, none of our managers, nobody in the whole company, and everybody in the company got fired.”

The WARN Act requires large businesses to give a 60-day notice to employees before mass layoffs. The Connecticut Department of Labor told us they didn’t get any warning in this case. They told us their Rapid Response Unit is helping affected employees.

Anyone looking for a job or a new career can always reach out directly to their local American Job Center.

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