SUN PHOTO BY BILL JONES

This sign on the entrance door to the Sweetbay Supermarket on Tamiami Trail in Punta FGorda announces its closing. Shoppers were shocked by the news Friday.

SUN PHOTO BY BILL JONES

Beverly Bailey, a Sweetbay shopper from Burnt Store Marina, was distressed at the store’s announced closing, particularly her loss of its deli department with the "best rotisserie chicken salad anywhere.”