LOWELL — A day after the latest Market Basket family feud came to light, it was unclear whether this will be a repeat of the 2014 saga, but the weeks of protests 11 years ago were still on the minds of some customers.

Nothing seemed amiss at the few Greater Lowell locations visited by The Sun Thursday less than 24 hours after the grocery chain’s popular CEO Arthur T. Demoulas was placed on administrative leave by the company’s board of directors. Even in the middle of a weekday, the parking lots appeared reasonably full, no demonstrations seemed to be taking place, and the receipts of competing local grocery chains did not appear taped to the Market Basket windows.

Whether that changes, and Demoulas’ paid leave draws the same kind of reaction as his ouster 11 years ago did, remains to be seen. At the 90 Old Ferry Road location in Lowell, some customers leaving the store expressed mixed opinions over the newest development in the Demoulas family feud, and whether customers and employees could, or should, repeat the boycott of 2014.

One customer, Dotty Rawley, said her son was an employee at the Market Basket distribution center at the time of the 2014 protests and Demoulas’ firing. She said she plans on continuing to shop at Market Basket despite the new development, but expressed confusion over how the board can put the CEO on leave.

“I don’t understand it. He owns it, doesn’t he?” said Rawley.

The board’s announcement referred to Demoulas as a minority shareholder. According to the Boston Globe, Demoulas owns about 28% of the company, his sisters each own around 20%, and the rest is held in a trust for the family’s grandchildren.

Customer Bill Grunwald first learned about the news when he was approached by The Sun Thursday, but quickly recalled his own reaction when Demoulas was fired in 2014, and his decision to instead shop at Hannaford during the boycott.

“I thought [Arthur T. Demoulas] did it marvelously and kept Market Basket alive,” said Grunwald.

If Demoulas is being illegally pushed out, Grunwald said, he plans to join in on a boycott if another is organized.

“He runs a really good ship,” said Grunwald, referring to the embattled CEO.

Another man, who declined to give his name, said he hoped not to see more walkouts by employees, considering the necessity of a grocery store. The unidentified customer said he remembered the boycotts 11 years ago, and how overburdened other grocery stores were when Market Basket customers flocked elsewhere en masse.

“These family squabbles are none of our business,” the man said.

The Demoulas family squabble had been ongoing for years leading up to 2014, with the divisions being largely between the children of Telemachus Demoulas and his brother, George Demoulas, both the sons of founders Athanasios and Efrosini Demoulas. Arthur T. is the son of Telemachus, and Arthur S. is the son of George.

Tensions between the two sides of the family began most prominently in the 1990s, when the children of George discovered the 50-50 family split of stock ownership had fallen significantly in the favor of Telemachus’ side, to the point where George’s children only had 8% ownership.

This led to a lengthy court battle, which found Telemachus had defrauded his late brother’s family out of $850 million. But through a vote of the board Arthur T. retained control of the company, thanks to the widow of Evan Demoulas, the brother of Arthur S., voting in favor of Arthur T.

That same board member would flip back to favoring the Arthur S. side in 2013, and one year later Arthur T. was fired, sparking six weeks of protests joined by customers and employees alike. At that time, support for Arthur T. was considered largely the result of the popularity of the company’s profit-sharing plan, regular employee bonuses and the company’s general reputation for treating its employees well. Those protests effectively shut down the grocery chain for most of that summer, until a $1.6 billion deal was reached, with mediation from then-Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and then-New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, for Arthur T. and his three sisters to buy out the company and restore his role as CEO.

Now, according to a statement Wednesday evening from a spokesperson for Arthur T., it is those same three sisters pushing him out 11 years later.

“Today, Mr. Arthur T. Demoulas was ousted from his position as President and CEO of Market Basket by his three sisters and their three appointed board members – Jay Hachigian, Steven Collins, and Michael Keyes. His daughter, Madeline, and son, Telemachus, and several other Market Basket executives were also placed on leave,” the statement said. “Under Mr. Demoulas’ leadership in December of 2024, the company paid off $1.6 billion in debt that financed the purchase of the company in 2014. The company is currently operating at its peak performance and the notion that this board is going to conduct an investigation is a farcical cover for a hostile takeover.”

The board contends that there are issues of transparency and succession planning stemming from Arthur T. Demoulas’ leadership, and that the investigation into his conduct “will include a review of credible allegations that Mr. Demoulas began to plan a disruption of the business and operations of Market Basket with a work stoppage.”