The Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle Needs Money, Has No Opening Date and Funding Pledges Fell Through: The Halloween Update!

Oct. 31, 2025

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

The Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle: 14 years in the making, supposed to open in 2022 and $3.1 million of taxpayers’ dollars later, it’s still pretending to be a grocery store.

From the Boondoggle newsletter that went out Wednesday, these scary bullet points:

— At the last board meeting, the Boondoggle boasted of $225,000 in funding commitments from some big supporters. They fell through. No surprise.

From the Boondoggle newsletter: ” … we haven’t been able to reach agreements with these major funders that were in the full and best interest of them, the co-op, or you – our member-owners.”

Oh well, so close to a quarter-million dollars isn’t coming through. Perhaps it never was?

— “Late this summer, we also became aware of a major unforeseen expense related to our refrigeration system.”

The Boondoggle has been in the works for years. How could refrigeration be overlooked at a grocery store? They’ve tossed around $300,000 as the cost to complete this.

Remember, this place was supposed to open in 2022, 2023, 2024 and at least twice this year, 2025. Now they’ve figured out they need refrigeration to be ready?

I can’t make this stuff up.

— “Including this unforeseen refrigeration cost, we still need $389K …”. Again, how was refrigeration overlooked? Yet this organization was deemed worthy of $3.1 million of tax dollars and has spent $4 million or so on a grocery store that has never opened?

Again, I can’t make this stuff up. Yes, they need $389,000, a remarkably precise number considering what a mess this operation is.

Beware of pseudo precision. It sometimes masks problems.

— Here’s some reality for a change: “It’s important for us to take ownership of our shortfall in the midst of public scrutiny and uncertainty.  We rely on the expertise of the relationships mentioned, but we took our eye off the ball and now have the responsibility to do our best to remedy it.”

Yes. This outfit is a disaster, and politicians who fawned over the Boondoggle are at risk of looking bad, and the word from the City of Bethlehem is: set an opening date but so far, there is no opening date.

—  “With 200 members providing a loan, we would cover the new refrigeration cost and be on a clear path to opening – further advancing toward our $1.6M Sustainable Future objective.”

That means if 200 members of a non-operating co-operative would lend $2,000 each to the non-operating co-operative, it would have more money to burn as part of a $1.6 million goal of money to burn.

Is that redundant? Does it matter?

The goal is to get money at zero or low interest and pay off higher-rate loans, but if the Boondoggle goes bust, don’t count on getting anything back.

Of course, it has never opened, so it can’t really go bust, but work with me here. It’s not easy to describe something this ridiculous.

— “And our Finance Team is exploring ways to better manage the interest and terms from our loans and the operational expenses we are incurring pre-opening.”

They have operating expenses while they are not operating. That happens, but not usually for years. Remember, this is supposed to be a small grocery store at 250 E. Broad St., not a toll bridge or a pyramid or a turnpike. They keep burning money and keep asking for more money.

How much has gone for rent, utilities, staff and whatever else they can spend money on?

Wawas go up in a month or so; the Co-Op Boondoggle has outlived some of its members and still hasn’t sold one bag of kale. Meanwhile, they think they can actually operate a store as a going concern?

I again ask the City of Bethlehem, the State of Pennsylvania and the federal government to step in, hold a public hearing and demand transparency.

I’d also like all who voted for or supported giving taxpayers’ dollars to this mess to apologize and promise not to do it again. Then we can all move on.

The Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle: serving the public since (maybe) 2026.

Let’s stop the madness.

Happy Halloween!