Dorchester Food Co-op Is in Danger of Closing, Could Be Shutting Down in Two Months

It looks like the future of a community grocery store and cafe in Boston that debuted a couple of years ago is in question.

According to a notice from the business, Dorchester Food Co-op may have to shut down soon, with the post from the Bowdoin Street spot saying the following:

URGENT: Facing Closure in Two Months, Please Shop to Keep the Dorchester Food Co-op....Please, support what you own: now and each week, the Co-op needs an increase in sales or else the cash reserves for operational costs will run out in two short months!...We're committed to doing everything we can in the next few months. Please join us—shop, share, give, and order catering today.

Dorchester Food Co-op first opened in the fall of 2023, being billed (when it debuted) as "Boston’s only community- and worker-owned food co-op" and featuring fresh, organic foods, with its focus being on bringing affordable, healthy options to the neighborhood.

The website for Dorchester Food Co-op is 195 Bowdoin Street, Dorchester, MA, 02122. Its website is at https://www.dorchesterfoodcoop.com/

(Follow Marc on Bluesky at @marchurboston.bsky.social)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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Dorchester Food Co-op Is Opening in October

Early last year, it was reported that a community grocery store and cafe was being planned for a Boston neighborhood, and now we have learned that it is just about ready to open.

According to a press release, Dorchester Food Co-op is slated to open on October 14 on Bowdoin Street, and as mentioned in an earlier article here, the store--which is being billed as "Boston’s only community- and worker-owned food co-op"--will also include a cafe. The shop will feature fresh, organic foods, with its focus being on bringing affordable, healthy options to the neighborhood.

The address for Dorchester Food Co-op is 195 Bowdoin Street, Dorchester, MA, 02122. The website for the store is at https://www.dorchesterfoodcoop.com/

[October 18 update: Dorchester Food Co-op is now open.]

[Earlier Article]
Dorchester Food Co-op Makes Plans to Open; Would Include a Cafe

NOTE: We need your help, as Leslie Hurwitz, who is the father of Marc (the founder of this site) is dealing with health issues and some major related expenses. Please donate at https://gofund.me/76d8ba28, thanks!

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[More restaurant openings/closings from the Boston's Hidden Restaurants site): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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Circus Co-op Plans to Open in the Former Darwin's Location on Cambridge Street in Cambridge

Last fall, it was reported that a group of cafes in Cambridge would be shutting down all of its locations, and now we have learned that a worker-owned cafe is slated to open in one of the spaces.

According to an article from The Harvard Crimson, Circus Co-op is looking to open in the space on Cambridge Street that had been home to an outlet of Darwin's--and a group of ex-Darwin's employees are behind it. The post mentions that the cafe will likely offer breakfast sandwiches and coffee, and that the hope is for it to also become a community space, possibly being a place for study sessions and poetry nights.

Darwin's closed its original location in Harvard Square in November, with the Cambridge Street shop shutting down the following month along with outlets on Putnam Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue.

The address for the upcoming Circus Co-op is 1629 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138.

[Earlier Article]
All Locations of Darwin's Are Closing Down

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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NOTE: Leslie Hurwitz, who is the father of Marc (the founder of this site) is currently dealing with health issues and needs your help. Please donate if you can at https://gofund.me/76d8ba28, thanks!

Dorchester Food Co-op Makes Plans to Open; Would Include a Cafe

A community grocery store may be on its way to Dorchester, and the space would include an area where customers could gather.

According to an article from Universal Hub, plans are in the works for the Dorchester Food Co-op to open on the ground floor of an affordable housing building on Bowdoin Street, with the post saying that the 6,000-square-foot store would include a cafe, pending approval of a food-serving license. The website for the store says that it will be worker-owned and "serve and reflect the wide variety of cultural, racial, and socio-economic groups that make up the neighborhoods of Boston."

If all goes as planned, the Dorchester Food Co-op should open sometime this year.

The address for the upcoming Dorchester Food Co-op is 191-195 Bowdoin Street, Dorchester, MA, 02122. The website for the store is at https://www.dorchesterfoodcoop.com/

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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Please help keep Boston Restaurant Talk and Boston's Hidden Restaurants going by making a one-time contribution or via a monthly subscription. Thanks! (Donations are non-deductible.)

Equal Exchange May Purchase Two City Feed and Supply Stores in Jamaica Plain

A co-op that recently closed its coffee shop in Boston's North Station area could be returning to the retail scene, as it is looking to buy a couple of neighborhood food stores in another part of the city.

Universal Hub is reporting that Equal Exchange is nearing an agreement to purchase the two City Feed and Supply stores in Jamaica Plain, with City Feed owners Kristine Cortese and David Warner saying that "The deal is not yet complete but is progressing towards completion....We will start meeting with neighborhood groups to seek approval for transferring licensing." Equal Exchange, which shut down its 11-year-old cafe on Causeway Street in September, is a cooperative that works with cafes and food retailers, and whose headquarters are in West Bridgewater. (The two City Feed outlets that could be taken over by Equal Exchange are located on Centre Street and Boylston Street.)

Jamaica Plain had been home to another retail outlet of a cooperative (the Harvest Co-op) until it closed down last year.

[November 22 update: The Jamaica Plain News indicates that any potential changeover might not happen anytime soon, as the sale is not expected to become official until sometime in 2020. The article also says that Equal Exchange is not expected to make many changes to the products sold at the stores.]

[Earlier Article]
Equal Exchange Cafe in Boston's North Station Area Is Closing

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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