After 50 years, Portland’s Food Front co-op shuts its doors

After 50 years in business, Portland, Oregon’s Food Front Cooperative Grocery store closed its doors this week, saying it does not see a way to continue following the resignation of its general manager.

The co-op posted a letter to its members on its website announcing the closure, which took place on Monday at noon.

“General Manager Micheal Balanoff has tendered his resignation,” the letter said. “Based on both our bylaws and the collective bargaining agreement with Union Local 555, Food Front does not have a path forward without a general manager.”

Food Front’s board said it will step down as soon as a new board is in place. The group urged the co-op’s members to reopen the store with new financing and a revamped business structure. Or, the board said, members could sell the property with a lease-back option on the building to reopen the grocery store.

Barring those options, Food Front co-op members could sell the property outright and divide the proceeds among the co-op’s membership.

“This decision has been incredibly difficult and a long time coming,” the co-op’s board said. “All of us on the board are part of this community and we will continue to do what we can to support Food Front in its path forward.”

Food Front was founded in 1972 by a group of neighbors looking to build an alternative grocery supply chain. Under the co-op model, members pay a fee to become owners of the grocer store and work to shape its direction.

At Food Front, it cost $150 to purchase a household share in the co-op.

During its half-century in business, Food Front moved several times. The grocer said it had more than 10,000 shareholders at the time of its closure.