Shareholders of the Clifton Market have decided on a path forward after facing bankruptcy. According to our partners at WCPO, they voted overwhelmingly to sell the store. Board Vice President Bruce Ault says a financial review this fall showed the co-op was financially in dire straits.
"We tried to figure out which was the most effective option given the fact that we were heavily in debt and in default to the two primary mortgage holders." Ault says the options were to close, to seek more funds from shareholders, or to sell.
Shareholders met Tuesday night to review the options and to choose one.
The Clifton Market will no longer be a cooperative, but it will stay open, under an agreement approved this week. Shareholders voted to sell the grocery store to another Clifton businessman.
Ault says before the vote, the board decided to work with Gurmukh Singh to keep the doors open. "We signed a 45-day management agreement with Mr. Singh to keep the market afloat. He would put his own personal money into stocking the shelves to keep the market going until shareholders could make a determination."
Ault says before that agreement, vendors stopped giving credit to Clifton Market, which lead to bare shelves.
