Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle Cuts Revenue Forecast; Debt Restructuring Continues and Fund-Raising Is $800,000 Short

(Corrects to use the current name, not the former one)

June 15, 2026

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

The Bethlehem Co-Op Boondoggle met Monday but did not set an opening date.

That’s not news and hasn’t been for years so there’s not a lot to report.

The non-operating operation, which calls itself the Bethlehem Co-Op Market, sees “momentum” toward debt restructuring with two lenders. Remember, this is for a place that has never opened and is already looking at refinancing. The debt exceeded $1 million last year and the Co-Op was also dealing with back rent.

More not-so-good news, a market study forecasts lower revenue than projected earlier. It’s all theoretical anyway because they’re not open.

Then the endless fund-raising. The Co-Op says it has $625,195 in hand, another $175,000 “firmly” committed, leaving it $800,000 short of its $1.6 million goal.

Don’t blame me. This is what they say at their meetings. I’m not making it up. I’m not that creative.

They had firm dollar commitments earlier that didn’t come true.

The 250 E. Broad St. co-op has never opened, is in debt, is seeking to refinance what it owes, and several past promises to open were broken.

The Boondoggle is “working hard” to open in 2026, which will be half over in a couple weeks.

The board declined to announce anything Monday about a general manager but may share news on that soon.

I might beat them to it, but it’s their news not mine. The Boondoggle had a general manager earlier for about a year without being open. Good work if you can find it.

The Co-Op has received more than $3 million from the taxpayers and was founded in 2011 after somebody had trouble finding a pepper. Fifteen years and several million dollars spent later, the Boondoggle has sold no peppers.

The people behind this pepper pipe dream are as earnest as can be, but that isn’t getting it done. A future based on goodwill and grants looks bleak.

The board will next meet July 20.

Let’s all take one thing from this 15-year epic. It’s time to stop giving taxpayers’ money to wishful private and public operations — The Co-Op Boondoggle, the Channel 39 Boondoggle and the Da Vinci Science Center Boondoggle.

Taxes are going up, government reserves are being spent and the national debt is soaring. Let’s use some #$#(# common sense the next time somebody with a PowerPoint and a dream asks local, state or federal government for taxpayers’ money.

We don’t have it anymore.