A year-long $6.4 million renovation of the Belfast Community Co-op will soon come to an end, bringing more space and other improvements to the popular local grocer.
Some of the most obvious changes will be a doubling in size of the bulk goods section and an expanded cafe to replace the previous one that was closed during the COVID pandemic. It’ll have a bigger kitchen, better equipment and more menu options.
A grand opening will be held on June 21.
“We’re excited to welcome everybody back,” said Marketing Manager Jamie Cermak. “Even though we’ve been open throughout, we haven’t been able to do everything during renovations, but in June, that’s when we’re looking to be back in action, and celebrating with our community. We had been needing a renovation for a long time; looking at it for a long time, and we’re excited that we’re finally doing it.”
The co-op’s general manager, Doug Johnson, noticed the need for renovations more than a decade ago, but the establishment didn’t move ahead with them until May 2023. It has not seen any other major upgrades since moving into the space at 123 High St. in 1993.
Among the other issues that are being addressed in the project are leaking in the roof and basement, and electrical and HVAC systems that are old and inefficient. According to Cermak, the building’s issues have prevented the co-op from selling more food or serving more customers.
“We are upgrading just about everything for comfort as well as energy use and modernization,” Cermak said. “We also had a lot of equipment failures — a couple summers ago, we had refrigeration issues — and that, a lot had to do with old infrastructure. So what we’re able to do is build a new foundation for the future to just get bigger and better, and serve more people.”
Even after the grand reopening of the full space, some work will continue to take place, including basement and landscaping renovations.
Not everyone has been on board with the changes. Last year, a former board member of the co-op, Steven Boas, pushed back on the large price tag for the project, claiming the renovations were poorly researched and could lead to the collapse of the grocer.
The dispute spilled onto social media, but the co-op’s leadership has continued to defend the $6.3 million project.
“I think we all anticipated that a construction project can be challenging and things change, but by and large, we’re on-schedule and on-budget,” Cermak said on Tuesday. “Of course, there are changes here and there throughout, and we’ve just been rolling with them. But by and large, it’s been going the way we wanted it to.”
