A fundraiser to keep the Hoito running has reached its first goal.
Paula Haapinen is a Director on the interim board of the Finlandia Co-operative of Thunder Bay, which was formed to try to save the historic restaurant and Finnish Labour Temple.
Haapinen says they have raised over $25,000 towards purchasing the landmark, which is being sold off due to debt. They want to reach $200,000 and are trying to partner with investors to help them reach their goal.
However, she says they don’t have much time left to negotiate with the firm Grant Thornton.
“We know they’ll be taking offers probably until the end of July, so that’s probably our biggest deadline there, is to get some financing in place by the end of July, so we can put in an offer that the liquidators just can’t refuse,” she says.
The Finlandia Association announced it would be selling its assets, including the restaurant, to pay off over $1-million in debt earlier this year. The fundraiser was started in late May.
