At HOWS Markets' flagship store in Granada Hills, customers picked at a dwindling supply of goods. Price signs were crooked, black plastic sheeting showed through the scattered produce, and a sign on the roof declared in red letters, "Total Liquidation Sale."
From the sound system came Elton John singing that "sad songs say so much."
It was a sad state of affairs for an upscale market chain co-founded in 1999 by the heir of the Hughes family supermarket dynasty. The stores featured high-quality produce and meats at the Granada Hills location, as well as in Malibu, Pasadena, Torrance, North Hollywood and Canyon Country.
Members of the family, which had been in the grocery business since the 1930s, and their partners are shutting down all but one of the HOWS stores — only the Pasadena location will remain open.
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