Retailer Learns Calif. Not Golden for Sense, Jobs and Fairness

Sept. 16, 2019 Milpitas, Calif. A Bed Bath & Beyond store entrance at the Great Mall in South San Francisco Bay Area.(Andreistanescu/Dreamstime.com)

By with Michael R. Shannon Tuesday, 26 August 2025 10:13 AM EDT ET Current | Bio | Archive

Just the mention of Bed, Bath & Beyond brings back nostalgic memories.

The constant direct mail postcards offering 20% off anything in the store that came week after week. The stores themselves that were chock full of interesting soft and hard goods for the home.

The prices weren’t bad either.

The Bed, Bath & Beyond experience ended during the Panicdemic when shopping malls were closed, and America became a nation of shut ins.

That spelled doom for Bed, Bath & Beyond and its more than 1,500 stores spread across the United States.

It filed for bankruptcy in April of 2023.

The assets were purchased by Beyond, Inc. and the vastly truncated company has been doing business lately as Bed, Bath & Beyond Home.

Now we are learning that even resuscitated companies back from the dead don’t want to do business in California.

Before the bankruptcy, Bed, Bath & Beyond had 90 stores in California. Now it will have zero.

Newsmax' Nicole Weatherholtz has details, "Bed, Bath & Beyond announced that it won't open or operate new stores in California because the state has made itself so unwelcoming to businesses. 'This decision isn't about politics — it's about reality,' Marcus Lemonis, the company's executive chairman, said in a statement.

'California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive, and risky environments for businesses in America.

'It's a system that makes it harder to employ people, harder to keep doors open, and harder to deliver value to customers.

'The result? Higher taxes, higher fees, higher wages that many businesses simply cannot sustain, and endless regulations that strangle growth.

'Even when the state announces a budget surplus, it's built on the backs of ordinary citizens who are paying too much and businesses who are squeezed until they break'."

Just speculating here, but we don’t think Lemonis will be endorsing California Gov. Gavin Newsom when he runs for president in 2028.

Lemonis issued a comprehensive indictment and it echoes many of our observations regarding California's anti–business climate and its posturing politicians who demonstrate their virtue by forcing taxpayers to support their pet projects.

Minimum wage increases, minimum law shoplifting enforcement and the general decline of public spaces in the formerly Golden State make retailing there a risky proposition. This is why corporations are joining an exodus out of the state.

Newsom's Trump derivative social media team had a predictably snarky response the Lemonis’ statement. "We wish them well in their efforts to become relevant again as they try to open a 2nd store."

Jobs? Who needs new jobs in California? Newsom and his team are already employed.

We’re going to let Lemonis conclude this column because he makes so much sense, "We're taking a stand because it's time for common sense. Businesses deserve the chance to succeed. Employees deserve jobs that last. And customers deserve fair prices. California's system delivers the opposite."

Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Mr. Reagan is an in-demand speaker with Premiere Speaker's Bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.

Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.

© Mike Reagan


Reagan
Minimum wage increases, minimum law shoplifting enforcement and the general decline of public spaces in the formerly Golden State make retailing there a risky proposition. This is why corporations are joining an exodus out of the state.
newsom, bankruptcy, stores
567
2025-13-26
Tuesday, 26 August 2025 10:13 AM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

View on Newsmax