Yet another iconic New Jersey food and beverage plant shutters. Why iconic? Because The Boss himself immortalized it in his 2016 autobiography when he referred to the smell that emanated from it as he grew up in Freehold. It was the smell of coffee from the nearby Nestle coffee plant, and to this day, the Jersey legend, although not a fan of coffee, loves the smell of it, all because of that persistent aroma.

The plant served as an instant coffee producer for 75 years, opening in 1948. Unfortunately, that advanced age is one of the main reasons, maybe THE main reason, Nestlé decided to shut it down.

The world is obsessed with coffee, especially the U.S., where the per capita consumption is expected to hit 2.97kg this year, according to Statista. And it’s only expected to increase. The little old plant simply can’t keep up.

So why not upgrade it to meet the new production levels? Well, for one, it isn’t like demand went up overnight. It’s been increasing for decades, slowly putting more and more stress on the existing facilities. It would cost many millions of dollars that, let’s face it, are not worth it. Still, it’s going to hurt Freehold, and the state, seeing as how it pays around $600,00 in property taxes and employs about two hundred people. It also hurts that the facilities taking on the lost Freehold production are both south of the border.

However, Nestlé still maintains a prominent presence in the state. Nestlé Health Science (NHS), the division that makes brands like Boost and Osteo Bi Flex, has located Hoboken as its U.S. corporate headquarters. Altogether, NHS has five locations in New Jersey, which makes sense, considering the state’s reputation as a life sciences powerhouse.

But, that’s no consolation for the employees that will be let go just before Thanksgiving when the plant is scheduled to close. However, I don’t think the decision to close was taken lightly by Nestlé executives, regardless of how cynical I am.