A key ground-floor tenant of the Commongrounds development on Eighth Street is closing its doors. In an email to tenant owners and investors Wednesday, Commongrounds Interim Executive Director Meghan McDermott said NoBo Market will close at the end of this month. McDermott said Commongrounds will be "activating the space for community use" in the short term, though the future of the riverfront restaurant space is uncertain.

According to McDermott, "while there had been substantial growth since (NoBo's) pivot to a full-service, elevated dining concept this past spring, ultimately a combination of pre-existing debt and other complicating factors made it difficult to continue investing in the business, leading to the decision to close." She noted that all building tenants are "standalone businesses and organizations. Commongrounds as a whole is still here, as are the rest of our business and nonprofit organizations."

McDermott said that if individuals invested in Commongrounds, "NoBo's closure does not change that. Stay tuned for a broader financial update coming in early December." As for the NoBo space, McDermott said Commongrounds has some "short-term interim solutions while we also are working on a long-term solution on how to best use this beautiful riverside restaurant space to serve the community."

The café in the front of the Commongrounds building will keep serving coffee, according to McDermott. Since Commongrounds holds the liquor license for the building, the Alluvion will "still be able to serve beverages without interruption," she wrote. "There will be a period of time where we can't produce food onsite while we work through ownership of kitchen equipment, etc. However, in the short and long term, Commongrounds will be finding a replacement for food service in the building and will keep you updated as we know more."

Commongrounds plans to activate the NoBo space for community use in the near future, McDermott said. "We'll send more information in November, but keep your eyes out for special programming in the space in partnership with our tenant owners and the broader community," she wrote. "We want this beautiful space to continue to be accessible, to draw people in, and to promote connectivity. In the longer term, we'll keep you updated as we know more."

The NoBO space will be available for rentals, events, catering opportunities, and fundraising initiatives, according to McDermott.