After 110 years in operation, Sheridan Fruit Company will close its Southeast Portland location Friday. The family-owned grocer, a fixture at 409 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., confirmed its final day after struggling with post-pandemic challenges including stock shortages, lost wholesale accounts, and declining foot traffic.

Founded in 1916 and run by four generations of the Poleo family, Sheridan survived two world wars, the Great Depression, and the Spanish flu. Its closure erases one of the last remnants of Portland’s historic Produce Row. Despite plans last year to pivot toward its deli and imported goods, the business could not overcome the sustained pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic and changing consumer habits.

The store’s demise highlights the fragility of long-standing, independent grocers in an era of consolidation and shifting shopping patterns. While Sheridan’s leadership had vowed to stay, the reality of operational headwinds proved insurmountable, ending a century-long community institution that once thrived as part of a bustling network of family-run markets.