Members of the Mifflin Street Co-op voted overwhelmingly to close the longstanding grocery store at their general meeting last week, according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4. The store's last day of operation is scheduled for Dec. 8.

The Mifflin Board of Directors came to the General Membership Meeting with only one recommendation — to close the co-op in order to pay off debt. Though the board has had this recommendation in the past, K.P. Whaley, collective store manager and staff representative, said this is the first time closure was considered "the only option."

The decision will allow the board to close the store in order to pay off a long history of debt and outstanding taxes the business has been struggling with. By using the proceeds from selling the store, members will finally be able to pay back the money they owe.

The co-op, which has been in the Mifflin Street Neighborhood since 1969, offered one of the only alternatives to large grocery corporations in downtown Madison.

"I think this will be devastating, and I think it will be a terrible day in Madison," Whaley said in a previous interview with The Badger Herald. "I think [the co-op] will be sorely missed by the community and by the neighborhood and by our friends and family."

According to Verveer, the location of the Mifflin Street Co-op has housed several other grocery stores since its construction in 1902. He said many of the members still hold out hope for the future of the co-op in Madison.

"I join with all the other members in hoping Mifflin may be able to stay around and perhaps even have a retail establishment of some sort," said Verveer, whose district includes the Mifflin Street Co-op. "But I think that's a long way off."

Though Verveer admitted he does not know what the Board of Directors plan to do next, he said it is likely that a landlord will buy the property and lease the space to a business of any sort.

But despite the property's long history as a grocery store, Verveer added, the space will probably not house another convenience store. Since Capitol Centre Foods is only a block away, he said the neighborhood might be welcoming a new type of business in the near future.

Verveer also said the only type of business the city would not welcome into the space is another liquor store.

"It really could be anything — I just hope it doesn't stay vacant for a long time, and I hope it's some type of business that can be an asset to residents that live in the neighborhood," he said. "It will be interesting to see what shakes out."

Members of the Board of Directors have ignored repeated phone calls and e-mails seeking comment, beginning Nov. 20.