Upscale Portland grocery chain New Seasons has temporarily shut down its central kitchen, forcing the 166 people who work there to shift to working in one or more of its 18 Portland-area stores, a spokeswoman said Monday.

The company, which recently announced it is being sold to a South Korean company, suspended its central kitchen’s operations to change some things about the way the facility operates, according to spokeswoman Julie Teune.

She said company officials have been assessing the work of the central kitchen, located in inner Southeast Portland, for a year and called on outside consultants to help plan improvements to workflow and the physical plant.

Company leaders “determined this temporary suspension of operations is the only path to complete this work,” Teune said. The closure started this weekend.

She said New Seasons’ “top priority” is to protect the 166 displaced employees. She said they will receive “temporary shifts in stores and no gaps in pay.”

As for customers, she said, “We are working closely with our suppliers and stores to ensure we have a broad selection of quality, local products in our bakery and deli.” Each store has a kitchen capable of preparing fresh food, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported when the central kitchen opened in 2012.

Teune said the company will lean on those store kitchens and on vendors to supply the fresh foods stores relied on the central kitchen to provide.

-- Betsy Hammond; betsyhammond@oregonian.com; @OregonianPol