— by Cara Russell —
New Orcas Food Co-op founding members. Photo: Cara Russell
The lease has been signed between the Orcas Food Co-op and Patty Miller, owner of Doty’s Marketplace in Eastsound. The Co-op will be leasing the space previously occupied by the Orcas Homegrown Market. The Co-op’s design/renovations team will be making some significant cosmetic and structural improvements to the space over the next few months prior to opening in the spring. “We’re all very excited to give the space a much needed facelift,” says Ken Katz, who is a board member and head of the design team. “The remodel will be something members can participate in, and in the end, all will be very proud of.”
A small gathering of Co-op Board members, members from their design team, and individuals who had assisted in the lease negotiation of the ‘Homegrown’ building, met Tuesday evening, December 3, at the co-op’s future store location for a private celebration of the signing of the lease of the building.
Everyone ate and drank, conversed, and discussed what was next, as potential color choices were painted in splotches on an empty wall that was once the produce section of the old Homegrown. “This space has a rich history,” said future co-op manager Learner Limbach.
Before entering into a lease contract the Co-op’s Board of Directors set certain benchmarks for securing memberships and start-up capital. The minimum goals prior to signing the lease were to have 250 founding members signed up and that they would have at least $200,000 pledged in the form of loans from our members. The support the community has shown for the Orcas Food Co-op has been astounding. Currently the membership number is over 350 which was the goal for December 1. The Co-op also has pledges in place for over $200,000 in loans from members and continue to seek additional pledges to fill out start-up capital needs.
“It’s really important to all of us to acknowledge that each person who has joined the co-op, each person who has made a loan, each person who has expressed support—has been part of getting us to this place at this point in time. We’ve reached a big milestone, but we still have a long way to go, but today we are at a very important midpoint which is really exciting,” said Board President Lisa Byers.
The Co-op still needs a lot of members so if you haven’t become a member yet sign up today! Membership covers the primary member, their domestic partner and any dependents 18 years or younger; it’s a gift for the whole family! Join them at the Artisan’s Faire this weekend, 12/8-9, at the Odd Fellows Hall and give the gift of membership to your family, friends, colleagues and yourself.
“We have a lot of work to do to recreate the space in a way that we think will maximize the retail space and also make available enough deli space that there will be great place to come and get take-out food,” added Byers.
