The Bethlehem Co-op Market opens after 15 years

Rows of cars stretch across the parking lot, hardly leaving a space in sight. 

As the automatic doors slide open, community members stand ready to welcome visitors into a grocery store 15 years in the making. 

Inside, the sweet smell of apple cider donuts fills the air as shoppers wander through displays of locally-sourced produce, stopping to exchange smiles and conversations with the people behind the products. 

Ahead of its official Dec. 5 grand opening, the Bethlehem Co-op Market, a community-owned grocery store on Bethlehem’s North Side at 250 E. Broad St. and the only grocery co-op in the Lehigh Valley, is hosting a series of preview shopping events, inviting residents to meet the local farmers, bakers and small business owners whose products will soon fill its shelves. 

Unlike traditional grocery chains, the co-op is owned by the community itself. Its 1,770 member-owners have each purchased a $300 equity share, helping turn a years-long vision into a physical space where residents can shop and connect with local producers. 

Todd Mertz, board chair of the Bethlehem Co-op Market, said the preview events mark a significant milestone after years of planning, fundraising and community support.

“This has been in play for 15 years, and you know, it’s such a privilege to be on the board when we’re announcing an opening date,” Mertz said 

These events follow the store receiving its certificate of occupancy and passing its Department of Health inspection, bringing the project one step closer to opening its doors. 

Across 11 scheduled preview events, local vendors can introduce their businesses to shoppers, while the community gets an early taste of what the market will offer. Mertz said previous sessions have drawn more than 1,000 visitors. The last event is scheduled for Thursday.

Beyond the growing membership and years of planning, the co-op’s mission was perhaps most visible in the conversations unfolding between shoppers and vendors. 

Just inside the entrance, Deb Colitas wasn’t simply introducing customers to the products of Valley Fruits and Veggies. She was putting a face to the farm behind them. 

And judging by the crowd, her apple cider donuts were in high demand. 

“I don’t know if I brought enough apple cider donuts to feed everyone, but everyone’s so excited and enthusiastic to be here,” Colitas said. 

Colitas and her husband, Chris Colitas, operate 55 acres of farmland by Airport and Locust Roads in Bethlehem, where the changing seasons shape what they grow and sell. 

In May, it’s strawberries. By fall, the farm turns towards autumn produce and seasonal decorations. Soon, some of those offerings, along with specialty baked goods, will hit the co-op’s shelves. 

“It’s just a wonderful, authentic relationship that they’re building within the Lehigh Valley community,” Deb Colitas said. 

For Deb, the partnership offers a chance to reach customers who might not make the trip to her farm. It also provides an opportunity to increase revenue and expand production, supporting the farm’s recent acquisition of additional agricultural land.

Moving produce from the farm to grocery store shelves requires more than planting and harvesting. 

Between packaging, labeling, coordinating deliveries and managing staff, Colitas said running a small farm can be as challenging as growing the food itself. 

The co-op offers a central place for small businesses like hers to reach customers, while giving shoppers an opportunity to form relationships with the people behind the products. 

Colitas said she hopes those connections will extend beyond the market’s doors, encouraging shoppers to visit the farms, orchards and small businesses whose products they discover on its shelves. 

“Hopefully it brings people in, but then it also brings people out,” Deb Colitas said. 

For Nick and Kaitlyn Plum, the appeal of fresh, local produce goes beyond a fitting last name. 

As Bethlehem residents raising a young child, the Plums have made supporting local food producers part of their family’s routine. But finding those products isn’t always as simple as stopping at a neighborhood grocery store. 

The co-op brings some of their favorite vendors together under one roof, within walking distance for some Bethlehem residents.

“It’s really nice, the idea of having more accessible food closer to us, something within walking distance, which is not something that’s always been in the downtown area,” Nick Plum said. 

Kaitlyn Plum said among the couple’s favorites are Primordia Farm, whose mushrooms they buy regularly, and Scholl Orchards, another local vendor they frequently turn to for their family’s groceries.

Rather than traveling outside the city to find these products, the Plums said they hope the co-op market will make shopping locally more convenient. 

The couple said they were also drawn to the co-op’s mission to improve access to fresh food and create opportunities for small businesses. 

“I would hope it helps residents learn that there are more local options and that there’s more that you can explore without going out of town or having to go to a supermarket,” Nick Plum said.

The relationship between the people purchasing groceries and those stocking the shelves is what co-op supporters have spent more than a decade working to create. 

Unlike corporate grocery chains, the co-op has relied on member investments, community fundraising and federal and state grants to move the project forward. 

“We stand on all of (past board members’) shoulders to get to this moment,” Mertz said.

He initially became involved in 2021 after meeting two co-op members at an Easton farmers market. 

What began as a membership eventually led him to the board of directors, where he served as vice chair before becoming chair, carrying forward the work of multiple previous boards and generations of supporters. 

Now, with the grand opening approaching, the board is shifting its focus from building the market to sustaining it. 

While vendors currently stand behind tables at preview events, the store will eventually operate as a traditional grocery store with dedicated employees. The co-op recently hired Stephanie Muiraia as a general manager to oversee operations. She started on Nov. 2.

Mertz said the board’s immediate priority is to have a successful first year and create a foundation for the market to become a lasting part of Bethlehem. 

He also said he hopes the store will become a community destination, introducing people to the local businesses, farmers and products that give the region its character. 

“All of our member owners who are part of this, they walk into this store, and this is their store,” said Mertz. “It’s a celebration for all of us.”