Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle Meets Again, Sets No Opening Date, Declines to Disclose Monthly Rent and Yes It Needs More Money!

Jan. 26, 2026

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

The Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle, which calls itself the Bethlehem Co-Op Market, met again Monday.

It did not set an opening date. The Boondoggle has not started the installation of its refrigeration system and it has multiple fund-raising goals but no opening date.

I asked the cost of monthly rent for 250 E. Broad St., the store that hasn’t opened, and Chairman Todd Mertz declined to disclose that number.

He asked why I’d want to know.

Here’s why: the public has supplied more than $3 million to this boondoggle but is apparently not entitled to find out what it paid for, and if a store that is not operating is paying rent, money is being frittered away daily. My question was rejected, but politely.

The point was made: We got more than $3 million from the taxpayers and what we do with it is none of their business. Nobody said that, but that’s what was meant. Buzz off, saps!

Here’s some candor:

“The more time that goes on the more at risk we are that we’re going to need more money,” Mertz said.

Truer words were never spoken. They always need more money.

Mertz described the store as “in a holding position,” meaning “We are at juncture where we need to raise enough money for the board to vote to use the money we have and to be able to do things like install the refrigeration system…”

This store has been in the works since 2011, started announcing opening dates in 2022 and is in a holding position. For once, I concur.

Mertz also said there’s been some confusion about fund-raising goals. Now, they’ve already spent $4 million or so at the no-op co-op, and as of late last year, had about $1.1 million in what the Boondoggle described as high interest rates.

Mertz said the Boondoggle is $122,075 short of its goal of $600,000, when it can use other money it’s sitting on.

He also noted there’s been some confusion about fund-raising goals, adding that the $600,000 is important, that $825,000 is important, and maybe $1.6 million is most important of all.

Count me among the confused. Relentless fund-raising for years, taxpayers chiseled, and not a single head of lettuce has been sold.

Goalposts move, targets change, numbers vary.

Other minor items: They are still looking for a general manager, the no-op has two employees, and David Pulsifer has taken on the role of treasurer. He’s a bolder sort than I am. He deserves a medal.

Pulsifer said the Boondoggle has received loan extensions and is working on getting better terms on its debt. He’s also seeking a better return on their cash, perhaps in a money market.

No opening date. Millions spent. Taxpayer questions not answered.

Boondoggle On!