A group’s plan to open a cooperative grocery store in Gardiner is moving forward after announcing that an angel investor will purchase a downtown building to house the co-op.
The Kennebec Journal reported that The Gardiner Co-op & Cafe, which started as a local food buying club in 2011, will announce its downtown location on Saturday. The co-op is not naming the angel investor, who will lease building space to the co-op.
The Gardiner Co-op has signed up nearly 160 members and approximately $120,000 since its membership drive began in February. The co-op has a goal to reach 360 members and $165,000, the amount it said it needed to start the co-op. The Bank of Maine has committed to paying for the initial memberships of employees living in the Gardiner area.
The number of member-owned food co-ops in Maine is on a course to almost double to 11 this year, as Mainebiz reported in its March 10 issue.
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Food co-ops on the rise as Mainers seek local foods, buying power
