[ShareTompkins] article in the ithaca journal

[Shira Golding]

hey folks,

there was an article on the front page of today's ithaca journal about  
ludgate farms closing and the community response.

please check it out and take the time to comment (full text below):
http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20111212/NEWS01/112120354/Ithaca-area-residents-seek-keep-Ludgate-Farms-going

stay tuned for a community survey!

- shira :)

Shira Golding Evergreen
shiraevergreen at gmail.com
http://www.shirari.com



Ithaca-area residents seek to keep Ludgate Farms going
Owners liguidating Hanshaw Road market

Written by Liz Lawyer
7:20 PM, Dec. 12, 2011

Ithaca -- Produce market and specialty foods vendor Ludgate Farms will  
sell its last Christmas tree later this week, and soon after will  
begin selling off equipment and fixtures.

Katie Quinn-Jacobs and her husband Dave bought the 38-year-oldbusiness  
a year ago. Quinn-Jacobs said Ludgate Farms, on Hanshaw Road, had been  
struggling the last few years when they took over. Now, she said, they  
have found they can't turn it around and are ready to move on to  
something else.

The store is undergoing a liquidation sale through Dec. 15. Trees and  
other Christmas fare will be sold through Dec. 23, with the fixtures  
and other equipment to go by Dec. 29.

But some in the Sapsucker Woods area and beyond are hoping there is  
enough love for Ludgate Farms -- to some minds, a neighborhood  
institution -- to save it. The locally grown organic food store  
started as a roadside stand in 1973 by the Ludgate family and  
gradually expanded its hours until the family started a year-round  
market in 1980.

"There is just such a magic to the space," said Shira Golding  
Evergreen. "It seems like a shame to just let it close down."

Close to 10 residents, including Evergreen, met at the store last week  
to discuss taking over the store as a cooperative.

Evergreen said she's not sure, but there seems to be enough interest  
to at least keep the discussion going for now.

"The feeling, based on the amount of response in e-mails, is there are  
people who would put in money to buy shares," Evergreen said. "The  
question is how much and how fast. The consensus was we should at  
least find out."

Quinn-Jacobs said she often thought that the business could thrive as  
a co-op.

"A co-op is a natural fit here," she said.

Between Quinn-Jacobs and the attendees at Friday's brainstorming  
session, there are enough ideas to keep several businesses busy --  
from the do-it-yourself products that are currently a specialty of the  
store, to dedicating meeting space for local groups, to a smaller  
version of the weekly Ithaca Farmer's market.

Quinn-Jacobs said she planned to be frank with those interested in  
forming a co-op: the business needs at least $3 million in gross  
annual sales, and it needs to draw in a reliable clientele.

Ludgate Farms would not be the first Ithaca business to transition to  
a co-op model. Buffalo Street Books closed last winter as a  
proprietorship and re-opened in the spring as a co-op.

Quinn-Jacobs said she didn't know what would happen with the co-op  
idea at Ludgate.

"I felt really strongly that if the community wants this, the  
community will make it happen," Quinn-Jacobs said. "And that's the way  
it's gotta be. As much as I love this store, it has to come from the  
community. I would love to contribute as a worker bee ... but I don't  
want to be spearheading it. So, hopefully someone else will come  
forward to fill that role."

Evergreen said several people volunteered to form a steering  
committee, but there is not likely to be anyone who does it all.

"There's an idea that there needs to be a magic person who can come  
and manage it and maybe buy it," she said. "Some time has been spent  
searching for this magic person, who maybe doesn't exist at the moment."

But lacking that silver-bullet, Evergreen said, "I think we're  
definitely going to put a lot of effort into finding community  
interest."
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