The Isla Vista Food Co-op has raised enough money for the down payment to buy the building it has long called home at 6575 Seville Road.
“Plenty of people didn’t think that we would be able to accomplish this,” said Melissa Cohen, general manager of the store. “But I never had anything but total confidence in our community.”
Cohen, with co-workers, started the fundraising campaign Project We Own It in mid-October, when they were informed that the building was going out on the market.
It took about two months to collect $202,775, Cohen said.
The initial goal was $225,000, but Cohen said the gap was filled by the store itself.
The total price of the building, which the local grocery market has been occupying for the last three decades, is $1,625,000.
“The co-op is a core stop of the Isla Vista community,” Cohen said. “A lot of students don’t have transportation outside of Isla Vista.”
With UCSB in session, the store that is heavily populated by students has kept busy.
“Our sales are great,” Cohen said.
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