Food Front buyers may be getting cold feet
Local partner troubled by internal controversies
Prospective buyers of Food Front Cooperative Grocery may be losing their nerve as a result of open dissension among co-op members.
“The split between owners and the divide in reactions is so strong, it has affected our offers, and is beginning to cause buyers to reconsider their interest in the property,” board President Roman Shvarts wrote in an email to members May 23.
The prospective buyers of the property at 2375 NW Thurman St. are:
A redevelopment partnership of Skylab Principal Jeff Kovel and ChefStable owner Kurt Huffman and
Market of Choice, whose CEO Rick Wright offered $1.9 million last November.
The NW Examiner asked Kovel if he and Huffman are the parties Shvarts that referred to in his warning to members, but neither responded. We asked the same of Wright, who did not answer.
“We have asked for all final offers from currently interested buyers in the next few days,” Shvarts wrote. “If none of the offers meet our requirements, we will officially put the building up for sale.
“We'll be in communication within the next two weeks with more information and an announcement of our next members meeting.”
On April 30, the board approved a recommendation that Food Front enter a partnership and sale agreement with Kovel and Huffman. Shvarts predicted a prompt turnaround leading to a binding vote by the membership.
“Hopefully, the lawyers will have the wording done in the next seven to 10 days and then we’ll put up that vote for a week,” Shvarts announced at the end of the meeting.
“It’s a sale, but it’s also a partnership, so we don’t want to mess up on the wording about what the owners are authorizing us to do. We want to make sure it’s clear and not confusing.”
Such details may be moot if Kovel and Huffman back out.
“We want to remind everyone to be more cautious and respectful with the things that are being said, as there has been a rise in false statements, misinformation and harassment,” Shvarts wrote.
Shvarts has demanded a correction on a May NW Examiner story stating that a membership survey in December on the sale options was held open for more than a month, while a later survey on a more refined version of the two proposals closed in about a week. The disparate timing may be of interest because the earlier survey, revealing an “overwhelming” preference for Market of Choice, was suppressed by Shvarts, who said the results showed no consensus. That spin triggered a private split of the board and was perhaps connected to resignations of two directors, including the president.
Shvarts said the December survey closed within nine days, although the results were not shared with members until Jan. 27.
ADDENDUM COMING