Food Front sale falls through
Market of Choice no longer interested in co-op property
A proposed sale of the Food Front Cooperative Grocery property at 2375 NW Thurman St. has fallen through, and the co-op’s board is now seeking other offers.
A sale for $2.55 million to K-5 Holdings LLC was approved by co-op members last August, but the company is asking for further delays and price concessions unacceptable to the three-member co-op board, according to Secretary and Treasurer Kate Fulton.
“We just can’t accommodate the amount of time needed to complete a sale,” Fulton told the NW Examiner.
The store closed two years ago and the board has been meeting its obligations through a hard-money loan that Fulton said gives the co-op “at least six months” before risking default.
“We’re trying to figure out what direction we’re going in,” Fulton said. “I have literally been cold-calling folks who might have interest in the property.”
She turned to Market of Choice, which made a $1.9 million offer in 2023 that the board rejected as too low. But spokesperson Laura Luthi told the Examiner that Market of Choice is “no longer interested.”
Hopes of a new buyer meeting earlier price points have been abandoned.
“Everyone is offering a lower price,” said Fulton, conceding that the lower prices reflect the property’s current value.
She also talked to at least one other grocer who had shown prior interest, and if a revised K-5 offer turns out to be the highest, they could still wind up with the property.
Fulton has not wanted to notify co-op members of the change in plans, instead intending to assemble more details so they can be given an informed choice of options.
Absolutely not surprising!! The property is a disastrous blight in our Wallace Park neighborhood. Thanks to the 100% incompetent so-called Food Front "board" we have a disgusting crime magnet instead of a beautiful, local, job-creating, community-making Market of Choice that SHOULD be there right now.