In an email to owners this morning, Common Ground Food Co-op has announced that they will not be opening a second location, in Downtown Champaign. If you recall, last March they announced their plan for this location. Read below for all the info:
August 13, 2016Dear Owner:After careful deliberation, the Common Ground Food Co-operative’s Board of Directors voted on August 10, 2016 to discontinue plans for a Champaign store. The decision was recommended by the General Manager based on updated project cost estimates and financial projections.One question was central to the discussion: would expanding to a second location in Champaign be feasible and fiscally responsible at this time? Unfortunately, the answer was no; the expansion project did not meet the required financial criteria necessary to confidently move forward.
Common Ground Food Co-operative will continue to advance its Ends of building community, strengthening co-operatives, providing education, and contributing to a robust local food system through its existing programs.Based on the owner feedback that we’ve received over the course of this project, we expect that many of you will be disappointed by this news, as are we. We could wish to ease that disappointment with a viable alternative, but the truth is that cooperatives do not make such decisions quickly. Over the coming months, we will be reflecting on this, communicating with you, and asking for your input. We hope you will participate.Sincerely,
Board of Directors, Common Ground Food Co-operative
