BETHLEHEM, Pa. — More than a decade in the making, it took a village to get the Bethlehem Co-op Market (formerly known as the Bethlehem Food Co-op) to where it is now.
Once completed, the community-owned and community-operated grocery at 250 E. Broad St. will be a first of its kind in the Lehigh Valley, with 4,500 square feet of shopping space open to the public regardless of membership, free drinking water, a community room with wi-fi, a pet area and a bus stop and bike rack outside.
And with nearly 1,600 Co-op member-owners signed on, it seems all but certain to be a welcome addition to the neighborhood, about a half-mile east of Main Street.
But there’s still some ways to go before the store opens to the public, store General Manager Eric Shamis told LehighValleyNews.com at a hardhat tour of the grounds Tuesday.
Officials broke ground on the project two years ago.
“We’re finalizing some final financial pieces with our equipment book. Once we get those logistics taken care of, we’ll have a much better timeline to give to everybody.Eric Shamis, Bethlehem Co-op Market general manager
A $2.9 million grant from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department's Community Project Funding was approved to outfit the store, but it came in the form of a reimbursement.
And being a startup, the co-op has faced problems with cash flow, Shamis said.
“We’re finalizing some final financial pieces with our equipment book,” he said. “Once we get those logistics taken care of, we’ll have a much better timeline to give to everybody.
“But we anticipate opening soon.”
The public is welcome to register for one of three guided tours of the store from 3-4 p.m. Oct. 24.
'Small but focused'
Shamis said that once open, the “small but focused” operation looks to offer:
- Fresh and frozen meats
- Seafood
- Everyday value section with different featured products each month
- A potential bring-your-own-container option for the bulk foods section
- Prepared foods area with grab-and-go and made-to-order options
- Refrigerated produce cases for fresh greens, salads
- Artisan cheeses
- World cuisine
- Dairy and dairy alternatives
- Wellness section
- Candy area
The store is set within a food desert, as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, meaning the respective census tract shows a 20% or greater poverty rate or a median family income at or below 80% of the statewide or metropolitan area family income.
That classification also includes low access to groceries, as at least 500 people and/or at least 33% of the tract’s population live over a mile from a supermarket or large grocery store.
The western end of South Bethlehem had a similar designation prior to the opening of Ideal Food Basket at 410 Montclair Ave. last April.
“We’re just people that live here and care about the project and want to make a store for us and the community.”Cora Savage, Bethlehem Co-op Market marketing coordinator
“We are not going to be organic purists,” Shamis said. “Our focus is on healthy, sustainable, natural foods, but we want to make sure that we’re reasonably priced and accessible.
“So we will carry some conventional products as well because we want to serve the whole community as best we can.”
The store's website says it plans to accept SNAP and EBT, hold discount days and even create a fresh produce subsidy program for low-income families.
“We’re just people that live here and care about the project and want to make a store for us and the community," Co-op Marketing Coordinator Cora Savage said.
Building out the team
On Monday, the staff will add a human resources professional to its management ranks, a marketing coordinator, accounting specialist, assistant retail general manager and prepared foods manager.
The store will have 30-40 people, both full- and part-time, once the team is fully hired up, Shamis said.
The new grocery will feature two self-checkouts, two express checkouts with cashiers and two traditional lanes. No plastic bags will be available at checkout, but the store plans to sell both canvas and paper bags.
More on the store’s member-owner cost and perks, products, accessibility and accommodating special diets on the co-op website.
The website also has recipes and a blog for those interested to get involved and follow along with the store digitally.
The grocery will feature a mural across its back wall, a work directed by local muralist Matt Halm.
The public later will be invited out to community paint days, at which they can make their mark on the store by helping with the mural.
'Profit is our means, not our ends'
The co-op's story goes dates to 2011, when local Jaime Karpovich was on the hunt for a red pepper within the city limits, and eventually took an hour to find one elsewhere and return home.
After Karpovich took her concerns to social media, it turns out she wasn’t alone in her searching for specific, fresh produce in the city.
More than 100 people later assembled at the Bethlehem Area Public Library for what led to the co-op’s conception.
“Any profit that’s made at the Co-op either is a retained earning that stays within the Co-op to reinvest, or it goes back to the member-owners in the form of patronage dividends.”Eric Shamis, Bethlehem Co-op Market general manager
“We have over 1,500 member-owners that have a say in how the co-op is run, what our mission is,” Shamis said. “Profit is our means, not our ends.
“Any profit that’s made at the co-op either is a retained earning that stays within the co-op to reinvest, or it goes back to the member-owners in the form of patronage dividends.”
The co-op building is four stories tall and classified as mixed-use, with more than 40 apartments in the three upper floors and about 7,500 total square feet for the ground-level market.
