Arlington, VA (March 2, 2017) National Cooperative Bank (NCB), a leading financial services company dedicated to serving cooperatives and socially responsible organizations nationwide, recently announced the closing of an $800,000 loan to fund leasehold improvements, inventory, equipment and working capital to Green Top Grocery Cooperative, a start-up natural food cooperative in Bloomington, IL.
Green Top Grocery, scheduled to open in June 2017, will be a full service natural food store with a commitment to providing residents with an array of local and healthy foods. The 10,000 square feet retail facility located at 921 E. Washington Street in Bloomington, Illinois will serve residents in Bloomington and Normal Illinois.
The $3.6 million project was a collaborative effort between NCB, Shared Capital Cooperative, Local Enterprise Assistance Fund (LEAF) and Green Top Grocery shareholders. The members of Green Top Grocery worked to secure additional funding through grants, donations and member loans. The co-op currently has 1,500 shareholders and shares in the co-op will continue to be available for purchase.
“NCB is pleased to have collaborated with Shared Capital Cooperative, LEAF and Green Top Grocery on this transaction", said Brian Misenheimer, Senior Vice President. “Our experience in lending to food co-ops and our commitment to new cooperative development made NCB a great partner for this transaction.”
“A lot of work goes into building a food co-op from the ground up", stated Michael Pennington, General Manager of Green Top Grocery. "The collaborative effort of everyone involved has been instrumental in our progress so far and we look forward to serving our local community very soon."