Laura Teegarden<br>
Daily Egyptian
The Neighborhood Co-op Grocery, a natural food store, will open at its
new location in the Murdale Shopping Center on Feb.1, leaving behind
its location of 20 years in downtown Carbondale.
"There are some people who feel sad about our leaving downtown," said Francis Murphy, general manager of the Co-op.
Staff, members and the board of the Co-op have been planning the move
for about three years. They met frequently to discuss how they
envisioned the future of the store and how they could make that vision
become a reality.
The co-op is a cooperative natural food store that offers part
ownership to its customers. At the end of the year, the Co-op allocates
some of its profit back to the customers in proportion to how much
money they spent at the store.
About half of the customers at the Co-op are part owners.
"The people who shop here can choose to buy a share in the co-op and become an owner," Murphy said.
About 700 people have bought the $100 shares for the Neighborhood Co-op Grocery.
"We really want people to make the Co-op their grocery store and it's
hard for people to do that with the space we have right now," Murphy
said. "We're really excited about being able to offer new departments."
Donna Wendt, a cashier, said the move would expand the store to three
to four times its current size. In addition to the size, she is really
looking forward to the better parking.
"Most of the customers that I have spoken to are really excited about the move," Wendt said.
The $1.4 million project to relocate to Murdale will accommodate an
expansion of the produce department, a deli with a broader selection, a
seating area and a new meat and seafood department, Murphy said.
"We're going to have more of those things that we already have, like
more groceries and many more doors of refrigerated and frozen
products," he said. "But in addition, we are going to have a much
bigger produce department. Our produce department will be twice as big."
Customers suggested adding a meat and seafood department, but there wasn't enough space at the old location, Murphy said.
"It's really exciting to think about having three and a half times the
space that we have right now where we can really become a one-stop shop
grocery store," he said.
Wanda and Ray Martin, customers from Lake of Egypt, travel to the co-op
because it is the only grocery store in the area that offers
gluten-free products. They hope the move will mean that there will be
more of a variety available.
"He has to have gluten-free products, so maybe there will be more," Wanda Martin said.
The move to Murdale also remedies the two major drawbacks of their
Jackson Street location, across from the town square - the parking and
visibility of the store. The only available parking at its current
location is metered and across the street. Increased traffic at the new
site will make the store more visible to potential customers.
"There's 10 times more cars going down Main Street than go by our store on Jackson Street a single day," Murphy said.
Reporter Laura Teegarden can be reached at
laura_teegarden@dailyegyptian.com
