Green Top Grocery

Owners of the Green Top Grocery Co-op have elected a new board after social media upheaval contributed to the resignation of the entire board last month.

Following weeks of disputes that included social media flame wars, allegations of misfeasance, and even allegations of death threats on a Facebook members group, the entire board of the Green Top Grocery Co-op in Bloomington has resigned. It follows at least two previous board resignations.

A “Big Lebowski” promotion at Green Top Grocery was meant to make customers smile and maybe buy some milk. Instead, it’s gone viral and spawned two spinoff events this weekend.

With a successful fundraising campaign keeping the doors open, Green Top Grocery will turn its attention to the busy holiday season.

Bloomington aldermen have put a request for a new type of liquor license on ice over concerns the proposal was too broad.

Green Top Grocery is asking the Bloomington City Council to create a new liquor license qualification that would enable customers who buy packaged beer or wine to drink on site.

Green Top Grocery has hired a new general manager as the co-op continues its turnaround effort.

There are signs of trouble for a new grocery store cooperative in Bloomington.

Greentop Grocery says it has all the money it needs in member loans to guarantee bank financing of the project on Washington Street in Bloomington.

The Co-Op raised 120,000 dollars in the last ten days.

Another appeal for loans is going out to owners of the $3.6 million grocery store co-op being constructed at 921 E. Washington Street in Bloomington.

Green Top Grocery had secured $1.3 million in owner loans through two campaigns late in 2015 and earlier this year. But a $300,000 gap remained between the amount raised through owner and bank loans and construction costs.

Bloomington-Normal's start-up food co-op Green Top Grocery has set a construction timeline.

Expect to see earth-moving equipment on the site at 921 E. Washington Street in Bloomington beginning in July. General Manager Michael Pennington says most of the work then will be installing underground utilities with the bulk of construction occurring late in the year.

Bloomington's Greentop Grocery has been approved for a $1.5 million loan. National Cooperative Bank (NCB) and Shared Capital specialize in working with coops.

Enough funds from an owner loan campaign have come in to ensure ground will be broken on Green Top Grocery's planned store on East Washington street in Bloomington this spring.

That's according to the grocery co-op's board president, Melanie Shellito. She told WGLT News the campaign remains short of the $1.5 million goal the day after the deadline, but she said more than 150 new owners have come on board in the last few days to raise the owner total to 1,150.

Bloomington-Normal's start-up grocery store co-op has picked a veteran from nearby Champaign-Urbana to manage its store.

Michael Pennington spent the past five years as stocker, IT director and interim manager at Common Ground Food Co-op. He says he's impressed with the wide diversity of owners at Green Top.

"Not just individuals, but families, farmers, businesses and households, " Pennington said. "They want a change in their local food system."

A thousand people are now owners of Bloomington's proposed "Green Top Grocery," and the co-op has raised over $900,000 this fall. That's the good news for the community grocery with an accent on local foods, and filling an existing food desert. Green Top spokesman Katie Novak says now the group needs to come up with $600,000. "If we don't raise the amount of money we need this spring, we'll have to turn back all of the funds we've raised so far to the owners who've given it to us.