June Update

Expansion planning lesson #1: Expect the unexpected!

The last time we updated you, we expected to be breaking ground on the Expansion Project this spring. As you know, we’ve done a great deal of researching and planning this expansion and Robyn and the Expansion Planning Team have been busy for the last 18 months ironing out the specifics. We realized, as things progressed over the last few months, that we needed a month or more than expected to bring all the details together...and that had us breaking ground right in the prime outdoor eating season, in the outdoor eating area and disrupting the deli at the busiest time of year. No good!

So, we’ve revised our timetable and are planning to break ground in early August!

Construction will begin on both parts of the project simultaneously; expansion of the kitchen and dining area (including two additional bathrooms!) on the route 5 side of the store and office space on the parking lot side of the building. Our builder (Joe Fortier and GPI Contruction) is in alignment with our vision of limiting disruptions in the store as much as possible. The shell of the expansion will be completed as far as it can be before there is any sign inside that something is happening. Once it is time to break through the existing exterior walls, every effort will be focused on making that part of the project run smoothly and quickly!

This is a very exciting time for the Co-op! We’ll keep you posted as things move forward and look forward to celebrating with all of you as our store grows into its’ next incarnation!

We’d like to thank our friends at Yellow Barn, who have generously offered to let us use their parking lot for the construction equipment while our work is in progress!

Provided by Board Member Oriana Fifield