Willy Street Co-op - West | Willy Street Co-op

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Willy Street Co-op - West

Coming soon...
- willy street co-op–west
- Willy West
Late in June our "Coming soon" sign went up outside the Willy West location. (And look at the deal on those copies!)
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Store News
Submitted by Phil Ward on Mon, 06/21/2010 - 3:18pm
We met with our construction contractor last week to work on finalizing the construction budget and timeline. The budget is holding up well but we continue to look for ways to reduce current line item costs as a hedge against unexpected construction costs that are bound to come up a long the way. The current timeline has us soft opening the store the first week of November.
Demolition started on the store last week. The landlord is putting a new roof on the Walgreens part of the space as well a resurfacing the alley behind the store. We are in the process of purchasing the furniture for the outdoor seating area and are going to place some really nice old salvaged ornamental ironwork between the planters that will seperate the outdoor area from the parking lot.
The store manager has been hired. Other key store roles will be filled between now and mid-September at which time we will hold a job fair to complete the staffing process.
That's it for now. Everyone is working diligently to ensure we open on time and on budget.
Willy West Recent Activities
Submitted by Phil Ward on Thu, 05/27/2010 - 12:05pm
This week we sent the completed set of construction concept plans to the landlord's architect. From those plans the landlord's architect will create a set of store construction plans and send to us for final review. After we Ok the plans they go to the construction contractor who will send the plans out for bid. This week we also completed the sign-off on all the quotes for store equipment, including customer facing refrigeration case colors. We have selected brick red and chocolate brown for the deli area and silver metallic in the rest of the store.
We had a wonderful surprise this week regarding the Willy West office furniture when TMG Inc, a Madison based consulting firm that is remodeling their offices, offered us their current office fixtures and furniture as no charge. Thanks TMG!
The Hallmark store that was located in part of our Willy West space is now in their new location a few doors down. The landlord's contractor has solicited bids for the necessary demolition and exterior work that is needed in order to start work on the Willy Street Co-op part of the work.
Owner Bond Sales Done - $1 Million Raised!
- Owner Bonds
- Willy West
At 1pm on May 4th, we sold the Owner Bond that brought us to $1 million. (Pictured are Patricia Watson and Brian Bohatkiewicz, the last two Owners to buy Bonds.) Thank you to all who bought Bonds!
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Willy Street Co-op Soars Past $600,000 Bond Drive Goal in Record Time
- Willy West
Willy West on track to open in Middleton in October
When Willy Street Co-op recently announced the plan to raise $600,000 in 60 days for a new store through an Owner Bond Drive, there was more than a little skepticism. On April 20th, all questions vanished when the Co-op surpassed its goal. From the first Bond sale to until the Bond sale that carried the Co-op beyond its goal, just 21 days has passed.
The Bond drive launched to help open “Willy West” in Middleton will be the second retail site for the 35-year old Madison Co-op. Anya Firszt, general manager of the Co-op provides some perspective on this latest effort. “In 1999 it took us 15 months to raise $445,000 for our move to our current site,” reports Firszt. “Now in just 21 days we have raised over $600,000 that represents the excitement around this opening. I am overwhelmed by the faith and support that Owners have shown us.”
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Willy West Welcome Ribbon Cutting
- Willy West
Willy West Welcome draws 300 people and raises over $1300 for Plant-a-Row-for-the-Hungry program.
Despite the threat of rain and the windy conditions, our "Willy West Welcome" event at the site what will be the second store was a great success. Saturday, April 3rd from 11:30am-2:30pm we met with future neighbors, held a ribbon-cutting after a few words from Middleton Mayor Kurt Sonnentag, offered information about the project and the Owner Bonds, and sold brat lunches. Proceeds of the lunch fundraiser (totaling $1319!) benefited the Bock Community Garden's Plant-a-Row-for-the-Hungry program.
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We have signed a lease on 6825 University Avenue in Middleton!
- Willy West
We’ve taken another giant step toward the opening of a second store. Our Board of Directors President George Hofheimer and General Manager Anya Firszt signed a 15-year lease for 6825 University Avenue in Middleton at the March 26th special Board meeting.
George said that "The Board received such overwhelming support and encouragement from current Willy Street Co-op owners, prospective owners and community members to pursue this project. We are ready, willing and extremely excited to bring local and organic food options to another neighborhood in Dane County."
The next step for the Co-op involves a Bond Drive. Already Owners have pledged to buy the Bonds that will help finance the project. The goal is to sell at least $600,000 worth of Bonds by May 26th, 60 days after the lease-signing. (When the Co-op moved to its current location at 1221 Williamson St. in 1999, we sold $443,000 in Bonds to help finance that project.) When we've sold $600,000 worth of Bonds, we will have cleared the last major hurdle on the way to opening the store.
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Press Release About Second Store Announcement
- Willy West
Willy Street Co-op Announces Plans for Second Store in Middleton
Westside location offers expanded offerings

(MADISON) – It appears that “Willy West” will soon become a reality. Willy Street Grocery Co-op (WSGC) has identified retail space at the corner of University Avenue and Park Street in Middleton as the likely location for the second retail store in Middleton. If all goes as planned, WSGC Owners and customers will have another place to shop beginning in fall 2010. The retail space formerly occupied by Walgreens is owned by Anding Realty, Inc.

“We are very excited about this project,” Anya Firszt, general manager of the Co-op, remarked. “The contingencies in our Letter of Intent (LOI) have already been met. March 9th begins a 15-day period during which time we will share detailed information with our Owners.” Informational meetings are scheduled at the following places and times:
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One Step Closer to a second store!
- Willy West
OPEN LETTER TO WILLY STREET CO-OP OWNERS
March 9th, 2010
As you may know, Willy Street Co-op has long been interested in opening a second store, and now we are one step closer. The corner of University Avenue and Park Street in Middleton (6825 University Ave.) is in negotiations to become the new home for “Willy Street Co-op—West”. We are excited about this space because it offers easier access to Owners who live west of the Isthmus and space for a beer and wine section and a full-service meat counter.
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Frequently Asked Questions Regarding a Second Store
- Willy West
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.
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