Frequently Asked Questions Regarding a Second Store

This list will be periodically updated – watch the website (www.willystreet.coop) or the Owner Resources Area for additional questions. If you have a question that you’d like us to answer, please e-mail or write out a Customer Comment form.

Question added on 3/26/10:

When are you hiring for Willy West?

We are not yet hiring for our Middleton store. We will be hiring a store manager approximately three months before the store will open, then we'll hire management positions and finally we'll have a job fair in the fall. The information will all be on our website and in our Co-op newsletter.

We also accept applications at any time. You can find our application online here or get one in person at our customer service desk at our eastside location. Applications are good for six months from when you fill them out, so if you have not heard from us after six months and you are still interested, you can resubmit an updated application at that time.

Otherwise, any positions that we are specifically looking to fill externally will be posted on our website here, so please check back for updates.

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE “WHY”…

Why is Willy Street Co-op pursuing a second retail location?

The focus of the Co-op is to provide local and organic food to the community at fair prices and to meet the needs of its Owners. By adding a second store, the Co-op will be better positioned to meet those goals.

Years ago, Owners began asking the Co-op to consider opening a second store. An additional location will give the Co-op the ability to provide additional goods and services that we cannot provide now. We also believe that a second retail store will be valuable to current Owners and attract new Owners to the Co-op. Since we have many customers who live far from the Isthmus there has been a great deal of interest in locating a store on the west side.

Searching for an appropriate second Co-op home has been a long and deliberate process. Please see the Second Store Project Timeline for more information.

Why can't we stay the way we are?

When the Co-op opened in 1974 we were one of a very few stores that offered nutritious, organic food. Since then, grocery stores of all sizes have recognized the importance of carrying products that appeal to our customers. In order for the Co-op to compete and continue to thrive, we must keep offering the best locally produced high quality products at fair prices – by way of a knowledgeable and helpful staff.

Why not support another co-op rather than opening a second store?

Our primary mission is to actually provide food and services. We are in the business of doing rather than the teaching, although we are always happy to assist other Co-ops in any way we can.

We have supported Regent Market Co-op and Yahara River Grocery Co-op (in Stoughton) within the last two years and have assisted the Northside Co-op, Monroe Street Co-op (who actually ultimately asked us to take over their effort) and Mifflin Street Co-op in the past.

While we will continue to lend a hand to other co-ops when requested, we believe that pursuing a second retail site is the best way to serve our Owners and support the community needs.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION…

How did the Co-op decide to continue to move forward with a site in Middleton?

This has been quite a process. Since we started looking for a second location, we have received hundreds of recommendations for possible sites from Owners and others. We also received 30 recommendations for specific sites from local developers throughout the area. Recommendations were evaluated according to this 24 criteria, including parking availability, accessibility, how close the site was to a neighborhood and more. This site fulfilled all of our "must-have" points and better fulfilled more of the criteria than other options.

The Board, Finance Committee, General Management Team and the Second Site Advisory Committee (made up of Owners, with key staff and consultants providing resources) provided input to a final recommendation. (The details of the SSAC recommendation will be posted after a lease is signed.) On July 14, 2009 the Board voted to move forward on the recommended site. Until negotiations are worked out, though, nothing is set. There will be an opportunity for all Owners to find out the address of the site, the name of the developer and other information after the reasons for confidentiality have been satisfied - this will be before we are locked into the deal.

Will the next store be a mirror image of this one?

No, it won’t. Each community is going to have slightly different needs, and the new store would address the needs of its community. Owners ideas are being solicited to make each store reflect the Owners who use it.

It is important to Owners that each store has its own personality. We will make sure both stores offer the best nutritious, local products and a knowledgeable and helpful staff. In the new location we plan to have a staffed meat counter, as well as beer/wine and seafood. We will adapt the store according to the nearby stores and the neighborhood needs.

Is it going to be named after the street it is on?

No, it will be called Willy Street Co-op. (The Co-op itself is still Willy Street Co-op; we’re just having two locations instead of one.) To differentiate the two stores, they will be called Willy Street Co-op—East and Willy Street Co-op—West (or, less formally, Willy East and Willy West).

How big will the store be?

The site has approximately 16,000 square feet of space on the ground level plus an additional approximately 3,441 square feet on a mezzanine level for offices. For purposes of comparison, Willy East has approximately 20,000 sq. ft. of total space, with 9,500 sq. ft. of it devoted to retail space.

How much will this project cost and how can the Co-op pay for it?

This project is estimated to cost almost $3.5 million. The Co-op will primarily pay for the project through a combination of cash, owner bonds, and bank debt. The landlord will also be required to do a significant amount of build-out work (known as "landlord's work"). The landlord will also be required to provide a tenant improvement allowance (TIA).

Who are the Co-op's partners in this project?

Real Estate Broker: Ellen Powers
Ellen Powers is a Vice President of CB Richard Ellis and has been doing commercial real estate work for 20 years. She specializes in tenant/buyer representation.

Construction Manager: Huffman Facility Development
Huffman Facility Development Inc has a history of working on “green” build out projects in the past, and managed the buildout of the Overture Center in downtown Madison. The Construction Manager is responsible for overseeing all aspects of construction, beginning with the initial contract bid and continuing through the store build out. The Construction Manager is the sole conduit through whom communication takes place between the Co-op and the Contractors.

Financial Institution: Summit Credit Union
Summit Credit Union is the sole lender on this project. Established in 1931, Summit Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative open to anyone in Wisconsin. Summit holds $1.4 billion in assets and has more than 107,000 members with a total of 20 locations throughout the Madison and Milwaukee areas.

Legal Consultant: David Sparer
David (Rosebud) Sparer has been the Co-op’s attorney for approximately 20 years; he remains an active resource available to management for advice, and to draft and review any document securing services or outlining relationships with the Co-op.

Store Development Consultant: P.J. Hoffman (CDS Consulting Cooperative Consultant and Manager of UNFI Store Development Services)
P.J. founded USD in 1988; the company has a staff of five, and is based in the Saint Paul, MN area. Over the past twenty-two years he’s done over four-hundred natural foods store design projects­—stores of all sizes and types and in many kinds of communities. Prior to his design work, he spent fifteen years working in grocery stores, including serving as the General Manager of Seward Co-op, a very successful co-op in Minneapolis. Because of this retail background, he brings into his designs a deep knowledge of merchandising and store operations.

Additional support: National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA)
NCGA is a business services cooperative for natural food co-ops located throughout the United States. NCGA helps unify natural food co-ops in order to optimize operational and marketing resources, strengthen purchasing power, and ultimately offer more value to natural food co-op owners and shoppers everywhere.

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE OWNERS…

How will opening a second store help current Owners?

It will give current Owners the chance to shop at another Willy Street Co-op location, perhaps closer to where they live or work. As we said before, the new store will offer additional products and services not currently available. The new store means increased Ownership, making it possible to have more volume discounts allowing the Co-op to consider new pricing structures, loyalty rebates, etc.

We hope the second location will also reduce the congestion at the current store, making the shopping experience even better if we are able to keep shelves stocked, shorten wait times and offer better access to parking. Owners who support WSGC’s commitment to local and organic farmers and vendors, as well as our investment in community, will see an increase on all of these fronts.

What role have the Owners played in this decision?

The Owners have been engaged since the beginning. They voted to approve securing a second location and have offered location suggestions and provided helpful input along the way. Their suggestions have been extremely valuable. Also, the Second Site Advisory Committee (SSAC) was made up of Willy Steret Co-op Owners (who were not staff or Board members).

Is there anywhere Owners can express their feelings about this idea?

Of course. We have a page on our website for comments as well as a place to post a comment or question inside the store. You can call 608-251-6776 and customer service will take down your comment or question; e-mail us at secondstore@willystreet.coop, or write to us at Second Store, Willy Street Co-op, 1221 Williamson St., Madison, WI 53703. All comments will be taken into account and we will answer as many questions as we are able. Questions that are asked more than a few times will be added to the Frequently Asked Questions list, available in the store and on the website.

QUESTIONS ABOUT GROWING PAINS…

Will the Co-op be able to handle this project and running the current sites all at once?

Yes. We have a seasoned management team that has retained several managers from our 1221 and OSK expansions and several more ringers who have worked on whole store resets and preparatory work for previous expansion attempts.

Would the Owners’ equity (Fair Share) investment be increased to offset the costs building of a second retail site?

Not unless the membership approved a change to the fair share equity agreement.

There are a few services that the current store doesn’t have that I would like. Would the new store offer those services?

Through surveys, customer comments and talking with our members, we’ve identified some things that Owners (and visitors or others?) would like that we don’t yet have. We’ll try to address those in the new store and in the proposed expansion of the current 1221 site (which has been pushed back by developments with the second site). If you haven’t already shared your ideas, please do!

Would opening a new store financially hurt the existing store?

In the long-term, NOT OPENING a second store would most likely hurt the Co-op. With a new store we have an opportunity to increase the number of Owners as well as increase our ability to compete with other grocery markets. Our current site is very busy and the plan is to have the new site relieve some of the stress and strain on 1221. In the short-term, the profit from this site would decrease somewhat, but that would be offset by the people shopping at the new store instead of at 1221.