By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – A local grocery store in downtown Bloomington has announced it will be closing its doors after almost 50 years of business.

Common Ground Grocery announced on its Facebook page Sunday the store will be closing later this month due to tough financial times.

Common Ground Grocery opened in downtown Bloomington in 1977.

According to the post, an exact closing date has not been announced, but it will be sometime later this month.

Below is the full Facebook post from Common Ground Grocery:

Dear Friends and Customers,

I am heartbroken that I have to announce the closing of Common Ground Grocery.

The reality is things have been very bad financially for a long time now. I kept thinking that it would be temporary, that things would get better, but in fact, they keep getting worse. I could give a lot of reasons, list many factors and challenges that added up to get to this situation, but it’s as simple as: Expenses keep going up, sales do not keep up. The money to keep this store as vibrant as it once was is simply not there.

I have been wrestling with this decision for far too long. It has now gotten to the point where I don’t have a choice in the matter. Outside factors are forcing this closure to be unavoidable. I had tried to find a buyer to carry on the legacy, but as of now, there has been no serious interest.

I know this will make many, many people sad to hear. I’m so sorry to all of you who I’m disappointing right now. Sometimes I think about what I could have done differently, maybe this or that would have been better. But I know I have tried my very best and I tried many things. I know that I am completely out of options and in debt. I have been trying to make my peace with this possibility for quite a while. I’m trying not to think that this is a failure. But I know I gave it a few more years than it would have had. I have always felt a sense of responsibility for this place but I’ve come to realize taking on that responsibility is not sustainable. It has taken too much of a toll on my mental, physical and financial health.

I will miss all the connections I’ve made here. I will miss talking to people about what they’re cooking, learning and sharing tips… I have been here for 16 years now and I have learned so much in my time from so many people. I like to think I shared a lot of that knowledge, as well. Also, this store has been a part of my life since I was 4 years old.

I ask you please not to try to give me any ideas or suggestions of what to do to improve things, while I appreciate the thoughts, just trust that I’m telling you we are past the point of no return.

I don’t have a solid end date at this time. I know it will not be after June 30th as that is when the business licence expires and I won’t be renewing it. We will be selling down all the products in stock and using that money to try to pay off as much debt as we can.

To the loyal customers who have been shopping with us forever, to the Downtown neighborhood and those people who come in nearly every day; I will miss being the convenient place for you guys. You have been the ones who have kept me going all this time. Thank you for your kind words and support over the years.

Some questions you may have:

-We will be getting one more truck on Tuesday because we had a lot of special orders. There’s a slight possibility that we could get one more after that of exclusively pre-paid special orders but we would have to have enough to meet the minimum order. If there is something you are interested in, please give us a call or send a message or email. However, I can make no promises at this time.

-We will still be making deli food as our ingredients and container supply lasts. We will be publishing a cookbook with our recipes that will be available for purchase, more to come on that later.

-We will not be “slashing prices” on most items. Most items are very recently ordered and grocery stores have thin margins. Some things will be marked down that are nearing the expiration date.

-We will be selling fixtures but not right away. If there is something you are interested in buying, please send an email to commongroundbloomington at gmail dot com with FIXTURE in the subject.

-Again, the exact end date is not known at this time.

Thanks for the years…

Sincerely,

Lua