Chip City Abruptly Closes UES Store Following Lawsuit From Co-Founder

NEW YORK CITY — Sad day for cookie lovers: Chip City, the New York City-based cookie chain known for its inventive flavors and cult-like fanbase, abruptly closed all of its stores across the city on Friday, including the Upper East Side shop at 1543 Second Ave., between East 80th and East 81st streets.

The sudden closure comes just days after the company's former CEO and co-founder Peter Phillips filed a lawsuit against the business, which had 24 locations in New York, New Jersey and Texas.

In the lawsuit, Phillips claims that the company withheld promised pay and benefits and then fired him when he demanded payment.

However, the brand didn't say whether the lawsuit was connected to the closure.

"Despite extensive efforts to stabilize the 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 business wrote in a statement on Friday. "We are grateful to our dedicated employees and loyal customers who have supported us for the past 10 years."

At the Upper West Side's Chip City location, the West Side Rag found that the store was surrounded by police officers from the NYPD Evidence Collection Team.

Know of a business opening or closing on the Upper East Side? Email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.