Goosefoot continues its work on a new grocery in Bayview, but the shelves in the new store will stay empty unless the nonprofit gets a low-interest loan from the state.

Island County commissioners will vote today to authorize a $500,000 loan application to the state’s Washington Rural Development Loan Fund.

If the loan is granted, Island County will transfer the funds to Goosefoot, which will use the money to buy the initial inventory for the new grocery at Bayview Shopping Center.

According to its loan request, Goosefoot expects to spend $1.5 million on improvements to the 21,000-square-foot grocery — last occupied by Casey’s Red Apple— and the Bayview Center. The nonprofit earlier tried to get a loan from Whidbey Island Bank to pay for the grocery’s initial inventory, but was unsuccessful.

The new grocery store is expected to feature a deli and bakery, and Goosefoot says the business will be a hybrid grocery, with natural and bulk foods as well as value-oriented merchandise. The store is expected to have 10 full-time and 30 part-time employees.

County commissioners will vote on a resolution to authorize the loan application at their meeting on Aug. 17. The meeting is at 10 a.m. in the commissioners hearing room, Room 102B, in the Island County Annex Building in Coupeville.