Nordstrom Closing Catering Operation

Nordstrom Inc. will close its catering operation at the end of May, affecting about 100 employees.

“Overall, the catering operation was not living up to our expectations,” Nordstrom spokeswoman Brooke White said Wednesday. “We need to focus on the growth of the restaurant division in our stores.”

White declined to reveal sales or profit figures for the catering operation, which is one of the largest in Seattle.

Nordstrom will have 165 restaurants in its retail fashion stores by the end of this year.

Nordstrom will try to find other positions for the affected workers, and will offer a severance package, White said.

Some observers speculated Nordstrom wasn’t satisfied with the catering operation’s profit margins.

“We had sort of heard rumors of this,” said Annie Shah, general manager of Mangetout, a Seattle caterer. “Traditionally, the margins in food service are low.”