Oct. 20, 2025
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
The Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle will meet tonight and this time the public may listen in.
The same public that has provided more than $3 million to this misbegotten, overdue waste of money.
That money was given to open a grocery store. That was a bad idea, and the delays and now “style drift” have compounded this mess.
The non-operating co-operative was supposed to be a grocery store. Now it’s sort of a mix, a grocery store, cafe with prepared food, along with locally made lotions etc. Maybe it will have lavender spray. I hope so.
What was supposed to be an oasis of fresh food in a “food desert” at 250 E. Broad St., in an affluent part of Bethlehem, under 42 luxury apartments, may become the kind of place you might see in New Hope or Frenchtown.
Does that fulfill the intent of the grants?
The federal government, City of Bethlehem and State of Pennsylvania were played by an affluent, educated interest group, and nobody has kept tabs on what the Boondoggle has been doing.
The prepared food section in particular will compete with local businesses that didn’t get more than $3 million from taxpayers.
The Co-Op took the public money but kept the public out of its annual meeting, but tonight’s meeting is open.
I might listen, or I might be out and try to record it. I’m getting tired of the boondoggle. Still, I’d like to see some answers:
— Will you make your IRS filings public?
— Will you provide an accounting of all spending? After all, most of it was public money.
— What individuals or businesses have benefited from the grants given to the Boondoggle?
— How much money has been paid for staff of a place that has never opened? Have any board members, current or former, been on the payroll?
— How much money has been spent on operating costs, utilities, rent?
— Oh yes, I almost forgot. When will the Bethlehem Boondoggle open?
About $3.1 million or so in public dollars, close to $1.1 million in debt, seeking another $1 million, and more than three years past the first opening date.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Don’t trust me. Consider that the East Broad Street location isn’t open, the boondoggle is in debt and needs another $1 million.
Here’s a sequence of the last few years. I will leave out the recipes on the Boondoggle website. I plan to try the zucchini chips.
— The Boondoggle received $2.9 million from the federal government. The City of Bethlehem administers the grant. That was in 2021, with a 2022 opening date set.
— August 2021: The Co-Op formed an environmental committee. As they say in chess, “When in doubt, move a pawn.”
— August 2022: The Co-Op people attended a block party. Yeehah!
— May 2023: “… we need to shift our projected grand opening date to 2024.” They were missing a gear switch, and much more.
May 2024: “It’s important to know that we’re making significant progress (even if it doesn’t always feel like it) and are excited to keep you updated on our journey!”
Beware of people who use “journey” to describe any effort that does not involve traveling. As it turns out, they were not making significant progress because they’re not open 17 months later.
September 2024: “Bethlehem Co-op Market is adjusting its grand opening to 2025 due to funding complexities … “
What that says: they took a grant and didn’t know how to handle it. Of course, when an opening is adjusted, it’s being delayed but in jargon.
Then the opening was going to be by the end of summer of 2025 (almost a month ago, still not open) and now there is no set date.
I’ll ask again:
— The Co-Op took millions from the public. It should disclose all spending and IRS filings.
— The City of Bethlehem, state and federal government should be all over this outrage. The city has said it’s “strongly encouraging” the Boondoggle to open. That’s not good enough.
Someday, maybe it will open. If it never opens, I hope a team of forensic accountants descend upon the remains.
Still I suspect it may actually open and then we will see how the leadership that has made false promises for years will deal with paying a staff and actually operating a business.
That’s when the real fun might start.
The Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle will hold a public monthly meeting on Monday, Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the Fowler Center in south Bethlehem. It will also be available online.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 