Grunt Style, a San Antonio-based retailer that markets clothing for veterans and other military aficionados, is closing stores nationwide.
That includes its retail location on Broadway, where the company will lay off all 19 employees by Nov. 30, according to a letter to the Texas Workforce Commission.
Employers with 100 or more full-time employees are required to submit a notice to the state under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988.
Grunt Style submitted WARN notices to the Texas Workforce Commission for stores in El Paso and San Antonio, and closures or WARN notices have been announced for stores in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Missouri.
It’s the retailer’s second layoff in as many years. Last year, Grunt Style laid off 100 workers from its clothing production facility outside Chicago.
The retailer is headquartered at its location at 900 Broadway in Downtown San Antonio and employed a total of 49 workers there, including the 19 retail staff who are being laid off. Of those 19, 11 are full-time workers.
In the letter to the Texas Workforce Commission, the company’s human resources manager, Kelly Wisley, said no decision had been made on the other 30 employees.
“The company expects to close this retail employment site in its entirety. No final determination has been made regarding the future operation or closure of the company headquarters,” read the letter.
Wisley did not respond to requests for comment.
Grunt Style was founded by veteran Daniel Alarik in 2009. Alarik was ousted from the company in 2020 and sued Grunt Style that same year.
The brand gained attention and added to its reputation for marketing to conservative and right-wing consumers after rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 wore the company’s clothing.
Grunt Style also has a nonprofit arm, the Grunt Style Foundation, which raises money and offers programs for veterans, as well as legislative advocacy.
The Grunt Style Foundation also has offices at the retailer’s Broadway location, according to its website. Officials from the foundation did not respond to email requests for comment.
