Jan. 26, 2026

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

The Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle meeting tonight will be held only virtually. Before the big storm, the plan had been to meet in person at Northampton Community College in south Bethlehem, with a virtual option.

NCC is closed today. The virtual meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. and there is a link to it here.

Everything else below is from my earlier item on the Boondogglers, and except for the nature of the meeting, it still stands: the facts and the pesky opinions.

Because the meeting is only virtual, there won’t be any free freshly made snacks, but I have a sneaking suspicion that there weren’t going to be any, anyway. We may find out more tonight about that.

I will listen in or have a sneaky varlet record the meeting for me.

Boondoggle on!

The Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle Will Meet Monday

Jan. 23, 2026

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

The Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle will meet Monday night, and maybe announce an opening date?

Probably not. The Boondoggle (which refers to itself as the Bethlehem Co-Op Market) is good at meeting but not at opening.

Their latest word from on high: no opening date will be announced until everything is just right. I looked in a couple days ago. Everything is not just right.

This is the same boondoggle that has spent more than $3 million in public dollars and more than $4 million total on a food store at 250 E. Broad St. that is not open. I passed it again recently, and still the only food I could see was a tube of Pringles extruded snacks.

The Boondoggle meeting will be held in person (NO IT WON’T BE) at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26 at Northampton Community College’s Fowler Center, 511 E. Third St. in south Bethlehem, Room 106. It’s also available online, see the link.

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They do answer questions. If I’m stuck here in the snow, I might ask a few, such as:

— How many employees are there now?

— How much is monthly rent?

— When is the opening date?

— When is the drop-dead (give it up) date?

— How much money is left for operating expenses?

No agenda has been posted, but money will come up. The Boondoggle never opens but always needs more money.

The Boondoggle has announced several opening dates and missed them all, and it still has to set up its refrigeration system, which hardly seems like an afterthought for an organization that promised to bring healthy food to the masses.

Boondogle On!