Home-grown natural grocer Alfalfa’s Market raised about $3.7 million to tidy up its balance sheet and advance on plans to open a third location — one that likely will land in or near Denver.
Alfalfa’s has signed a non-binding letter of intent for a property in the Denver metro area, company president Barney Feinblum said Wednesday, declining to give details about the location.
“It seems like everybody wants a natural grocery store as an anchor tenant in their community and their development,” he said.
The new Alfalfa’s — a reboot of the chain that gained popularity in the 1980s and ’90s before it was sold to Whole Foods — and last year opened its second store, in Louisville.
Privately-held Alfalfa’s earlier this year secured a bridge loan to carry it through while it raised capital. According to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings posted Wednesday, Alfalfa’s gathered nearly $3.7 million of a planned $5.95 million offering.
About $2 million of that is new money, the rest is financing converted from the bridge loan, Feinblum said.
Investors contributing to the round include former Whole Foods’ exec Paul McLean, who was recently named Alfalfa’s chief operating officer, and Foundry Group’s Brad Feld and Seth Levine, he said.
The goal, Feinblum said, is “to clean up our balance sheet, reduce debt and hopefully get us in a position where we can open a third store.”
The booming metro Denver market has “got to be the priority,” for Alfalfa’s expansion, Feinblum said. Alfalfa’s officials have toured a couple of sites, including former Safeway locations.
The earliest that a third location could open would be 2017 or 2018, Feinblum said.
After the latest funding around, Alfalfa’s has less than $5 million in debt, he said. Alfalfa’s expects to have $25 million in revenue this year and is cash-flow positive, he added.
Alicia Wallace: 303-954-1939, awallace@denverpost.com or @aliciawallace
