Bethesda Co-Op in Cabin John to close May 31 after more than 50 years

High overhead costs, rent, competition with big box brands made business unsustainable, store says

May 20, 2026 12:30 p.m. | Updated: May 20, 2026 12:29 p.m.

The Bethesda Co-Op at 6500 Seven Locks Road, a natural food market and mainstay for the Cabin John community since 1983. Photo credit: Elia Griffin

After selling organic and specialty health food products, bulk grains, nuts and candies, books, greeting cards and tie-dyed socks to the Cabin John and Bethesda communities for 50 years, the Bethesda Co-Op will close permanently on May 31.

Helen Atkocius, the co-op’s general manager, told Bethesda Today on Tuesday that watching the shelves become more barren day by day as the store prepares to close has been difficult to watch. She no longer needs to order goods to fill inventory. The store’s clear bulk food dispensers were empty as of last Thursday.

“It’s been a journey and a mission,” Atkocius said, reflecting on the last two decades managing the store at 6500 Seven Locks Road in Cabin John.

The store is in MacArthur Plaza, home to a U.S. Post Office, salon, offices and restaurants such as Fish Taco, Sal’s Italian Kitchen, Wild Tomato Restaurant and Bar and the Market on the Boulevard.

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On March 4, the co-op announced on social media that it would close permanently at the end of May. High overhead costs such as renting the nearly 5,000-square-foot store and the rising cost of goods, coupled with a drop in customers, made the business no longer “sustainable,” according to Atkocius.

Atkocius added that in recent years, competition with large grocery store chains that also offer natural and organic food products, such as Whole Foods Market and MOM’s Organic Market, has also impacted the business. She said the closure has been “years in the making.”

When the co-op opened in Bethesda in 1975, its founding members aimed to create a community space and market where customers could purchase natural, organic food products that were not easy to find in typical grocery stores, Atkocius said. Now, there is a multi-billion dollar global organic food and beverages market competing with the co-op, Atkocius said, and oftentimes those big companies can offer better prices.

According to a Grand View Research report, the global organic food and beverages market was valued at more than $230 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to $564 billion by 2030.

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“The co-op was founded on idealism and the desire for the whole, fresh food that we take for granted now,” Atkocius said. “The store logo from the beginning was ‘Food for people, not for profit.’ It is very sad to see where we are right now in the world of natural foods. It’s become a big business, and once that happens, everything shifts.”

A nearly empty grocery aisle in the Bethesda Co-op on May 14. Photo credit: Elia Griffin — A nearly empty bread aisle in the Bethesda Co-op on May 14. Photo credit: Elia Griffin

Cuts to the federal government workforce, which have impacted tens of thousands of residents in the region, also affected the co-op’s key customer base, she said.

“All of those things, kind of, slice into the life of a small store and eventually we just could not sustain anymore,” Atkocius said.

She said that over the years, the store has operated with fewer employees and received a “generous” loan. She also took steps to bring in more revenue by securing a license to sell beer and wine, which were “highly popular” with customers.

“We’ve struggled mightily, tenaciously. We did everything we could think of,” Atkocius said. “It just became apparent in 2025 to 2026 … the entire year of 2025, we saw daily sales dipping. It really did impact us so that we’re walking that tight rope, and that just pushed us over the edge.”

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Upon learning that the store was beginning to struggle in 2024, Atkocius’ son, Sam Avayou, left a corporate banking job in Colorado to work at the co-op.

Standing at the store’s cashier checkout counter on Thursday, Avayou told Bethesda Today that the co-op is where he, like many other people who grew up in the area, worked his first job in the early 2000s. Now Avayou is the store’s operations manager and often runs the shop by himself when staffing is low.

“It’s sad to see the void that that’s already starting to create in the community and how upset a lot of our every day, or every other day, customers have become just from knowing that we’re not going to be able to do that for them anymore,” he said.

Eileen Freed, a longtime Cabin John resident and frequent shopper at the co-op, said Thursday that she was “very sad” about the closure. Freed considers the store like a “second refrigerator.”

She added that the co-op also was a place she met one of her best friends several years ago. The two connected over dancing in the aisles to a Motown song playing through the store’s speakers, she said.

“We owe it to the co-op,” Freed said. After learning of the closure, she said that she has been stocking up on items she loves from the store such as its artisan breads, gourmet cheeses and red licorice.

An employee checks out a patron standing behind a row of wine bottles for sale at the Bethesda Co-Op in Cabin John. Photo credit: Elia Griffin — An employee checks out a patron at the Bethesda Co-Op in Cabin John. Photo credit: Elia Griffin

Daniela Wolf, a therapist who works in an office above the store, said Thursday she was also sad and disappointed about the closure. Wolf said she buys lunch at the co-op nearly every day.

“It’s very disappointing that there hasn’t been more outpouring of support for their rent and making it more accessible for places like this to exist,” Wolf said.

The co-op is a “place of sanctuary, a place of kindness, a place of replenishing,” she added. “It’s the kind of place … where you know everyone personally and chat. They know about you, you know something about them. It’s a rarity in the area. Not to mention the wonderful, healthy, great food. That’s maybe not so much a rarity anymore, but still super nice to have around.”

A farewell

On Sunday, the co-op held a farewell potluck party to mark the closure and celebrate its five decades of business. Many of the co-op’s founding members attended the event, according to Atkocius, who estimated more than 200 people also visited.

Local elected officials including Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) and Montgomery County Dels. Marc Korman, Sarah Wolek and Teresa Woorman (all D-Dist. 16) also attended, according to Atkocius.

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“We just left the doors open until our normal close time, and lots of original staff came and saw each other for the first time in years. It was really, really nice,” she said.

One of the attendees was Suzanne Tarica, 86, a Bethesda resident and founding member of the co-op in 1975. The co-op was originally located in downtown Bethesda at 4949 Bethesda Ave., about one block away from Bethesda Row and in the shopping strip currently home to City Lights of China, Griffin Cycle and Takumi Japanese Bistro and Bar. In November 1983, the co-op moved to Cabin John.

Tarica told Bethesda Today on Tuesday that attending the party and seeing old friends was “exhilarating.” While she was sad to see the co-op close, Tarica said she was proud to see the impact her work decades ago had on the community.

“It’s sort of the end of an era for me,” said Tarica. “It just marks the passage of time and getting older and older. On the other hand, it was a source of pride. It was really terrific to see all these people who have been connected to the co-op.”

What’s next?

Many in the Cabin John community are hoping for another grocery store to open in place of the co-op, according to several community members who spoke to Bethesda Today and the Cabin John Citizens Association.

In an early April blog post, the citizens association said that management for the property received proposals from different types of businesses, three of which are grocers. One of those grocers is Rodman’s, a grocery store in Washington, D.C.’s Friendship Heights neighborhood. The store’s owner grew up in Cabin John and attended a March citizens association meeting to share his vision for the store with the community, according to the post.

“Our local retailers bring our community together, make Cabin John a more walkable neighborhood and provide vital accessible services for the many Cabin Johners that are aging in place or looking to save time by shopping locally,” the blog post said. The citisens association also encouraged Cabin John residents to write to the MacArthur Plaza property owners and management to advocate for a grocery store.

Brad Klinedinst, the MacArthur Plaza leasing agent of Klinedinst Management, confirmed in an email to Bethesda Today that Rodman’s has expressed interest in opening in space, as well as several other potential tenants.

Klinedinst declined to disclose the other prospective tenants, saying he did not have permission to do so, and noted decisions about the center’s tenants ultimately rest with the property’s landlords, Michael R. Garrett and Robert Calhoun Smith Jr. of Garrett & Smith, LLC.

Garrett and Smith did not respond to Bethesda Today’s email request for comment on Tuesday afternoon about what is next for the retail space.

Freed also said she hopes a grocery store opens in the co-op’s place. Without the co-op, community members will have to drive to Kenwood or Potomac to get groceries, instead of walking to the plaza, she said.

The co-op “has really been a mainstay for us,” Freed said. “It’s not always the least expensive, but it’s always good and they do a nice job here.”

Photos of the Bethesda Co-Op’s founding members and a note about the store moving from its original Bethesda Avenue location. Photo credit: Elia Griffin
Shopper looks at some of the last fresh produce to be sold at the Bethesda Co-Op in Cabin John before it’s closure on May 31. Photo credit: Elia Griffin
Bulk grain and nut dispensers at the Bethesda Co-Op are emptied out. Photo credit: Elia Griffin
The Bethesda Co-Op sells wine and beer as well as greeting cards and other gifting items. Photo credit: Elia Griffin

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine