(Photo courtesy DGC. From left, Agen Schmitz, Christie Anderson, Lara Anderson, Ranette Iding, Brent Curtis, Grace Curtis, Doris Rahmig, Bob Poor)

Years of work are finally bearing fruit for the Delridge Grocery Cooperative. Just announced:

The Delridge Grocery Co-op (DGC) today signed their portion of the lease with Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) for the retail space in Cottage Grove Commons. (DESC will sign their portion of the lease early next week.) DGC Board president Ranette Iding and board members Doris Rahmig, Bob Poor, and Brent Curtis were joined by DGC project manager Lara Anderson and DGC volunteer coordinator Agen Schmitz to celebrate the signing with a cup of coffee at the Youngstown Coffee Company in Delridge. Keeping it all in the family, Lara’s mother Christie Anderson notarized the signing and super volunteer Grace Curtis helped amp up the festivity.

Once the lease is signed by DESC, construction of the retail space (designed by Parie Hines of West Seattle Blog sponsor LD Arch Design) will be scheduled to begin in the October/November timeframe, with an initial opening planned for the first quarter of 2020.

The DGC is starting to ramp up plans for outreach and fundraising efforts in the coming weeks. In addition to planning a groundbreaking ceremony that will happen in November (date still TBD at this time), we are looking for volunteers who are interested in helping make calls to current members regarding member loans and neighborhood outreach to get the word out.

Join the DGC next Saturday for a volunteer kickoff gathering at Ounces Taproom and Beer Garden from 3 pm to 5 pm, where you can learn more how you can help these initiatives and more. Simply drop by, or email either Agen Schmitz (volunteer@delridgegrocery.coop) or Brent Curtis (events@delridgegrocery.coop) with any questions. Ounces is located at 3809 Delridge Way SW.

ADDED: Backstory – the Delridge Grocery Cooperative goes back more than a decade, founded as the Delridge Produce Coop. The DESC space was promised to the future grocery store event before the complex (5444 Delridge Way SW) was built and has been vacant for the 5+ years since the complex, which provides permanent supportive housing, opened.