Staff and customers have been blindsided and left "devastated" after Sheridan closed its doors in Orange after nine years of business success.
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The linen and bedding store's four employees were notified about the closure five days before the doors shut for the last time at 5pm on Monday, March 11, 2024.
Two of those employees Jay Symons and Shelley Miller worked at the Orange Sheridan outlet since it opened at the Orange Homemakers Centre on March 26, 2015.
They were caught off-guard due to the business being popular among short-term rental property owners in town and because it was in profit.
They are hopeful a new outlet will reopen in a new premises and Sheridan has confirmed it is looking for a new space.
Jay Symons worked at the store since it opened and was so devastated by the news she left the shop in tears when the team was notified.
"We were told on Wednesday that they weren't renewing the lease and we have to get the keys in by [March 30] so we need to get everything cleaned and packed up," she said.
"There's now four of us out of jobs."
Ms Symons said the shop had a loyal customer base of residents as well as owners of Airbnb properties who regularly purchase sheets and sometimes kit out whole houses with sheets, pillows, towels and cushions.
"They are a real basis for us, they are one of our main customers for us in the area," she said.
"As you know there's hundreds of them.
"We tried to contact as many of them as we could.
"We feel really bad for those sorts of people who now have to shop online or travel."
Fill-in store manager Shelley Miller has also worked at the shop for nine years and said, "it's been fantastic" working for Sheridan and was "gutted" by the news and "surprised that it came out of the blue".
"I grew up with Sheridan with my mum and I knew it was such a great product and I was looking to join the workforce again after having children and being out for a couple of years," she said.
"The plan was to go back into pharmacy after a while because I'm trained as a dispensary technician but this has just worked.
"It's been a great company to work for," she said adding that it was flexible when it came to fitting in around her children and family commitments.
"I'm sure if we stayed open I would have been with them for many more years.
"We are a profitable store, always done really well, it was a big shock to us and I think the turnaround made it even worse, you didn't necessarily have time to process it."
Maureen Uren has worked at Sheridan in Orange for two and a half years and said she was devastated when she found out.
"It was something that we weren't expecting, I thought this was going to be forever," she said.
"We are getting that feedback from our customers as well, they are devastated as well.
"The customer base is absolutely beautiful, that's one thing I'm going to miss.
"We are not blaming Sheridan at all, it's all to do with the premises."
The staff all said the final day of trading was flat out and the shop was packed with customers.
It was so busy on Monday morning she was asked to come in early for her shift.
"It's just been 10-fold people," she said.
"It's the busiest we've seen it."
Following the shop closure the staff still had a few more shifts so they could pack up the remaining stock, which is being sent to Sheridan outlets in Homebush and Hornsby.
Sheridan group general manager Andrew Seargeant thanked the Orange team "for their professionalism and for continuing to provide their amazing customer service in the lead up to this unplanned closure".
"We have loved being part of the Orange community for the past nine years," he said.
"While we were required to vacate our store at the Orange Grove Homemaker Centre, we are already on the lookout for a new site in Orange."