Harvest Coop announced Tuesday it would close its 57 South St. grocery store, saying the "trajectory of the business model has become unsustainable."
The announcement — not unexpected in many quarters — comes one week after members of the coop packed a board meeting to talk about the possible closure.
At that meeting, held Jan. 5, only members of the coop were allowed in to the tiny Forest Hills Street room where the meeting was held. As resident Kendra Nordin previously reported, the meeting was held in two shifts to accommodate all 60 people who showed up.
Chris Helms
The patio outside the Harvest Coop on South Street
The store's lease was set to expire Feb. 28. A deal with landlord Dean Rusk extends the lease to April 30.
Last Tuesday, Lila Givens and the grocery chain's board of directors announced they'd come to a decision. But that decision — to shutter the store — wasn't announced until Tuesday.
Harvest opened a second JP location near Forest Hills Station. The stores are .7 miles apart. That's a walk of roughly 15 minutes.
The coop's board said South Street has been operating at a loss for the past three fiscal years.
"From its peak in 2009, sales in South Street have declined 32 percent through the most recent fiscal year and over 6 percent currently year to date," they said in a statement on the Harvest website. 'Costs for rent, payroll, maintenance, repairs, utilities and other services have continued to increase."