When will Co-op Market be open for business?

Good question! The business plan was finished in June, 2010. We have an option to lease part of the old Foodland building. We are working now to raise a total of $575,00 in member equity through memberships and loans from members. That member equity will allow us to secure commercial bank loans for another $500,000. When the funding is in place, we can begin remodeling and outfitting the store. There are a number of other challenges to meet, including hiring of a General Manager, before construction can begin, but our goal is to open the store by late 2011.

Our biggest challenge is raising seed funding required to secure bank loans for construction and stocking the shelves. We have two equity raising projects, the membership drive and the member loan program. If we raise sufficient funds, store construction could start as early as July 1st, 2011.