by Anya Firszt, General Manager
Hello July and Hello Dear Owners
July marks the middle of summer and the beginning of our new fiscal year. Happy New (Fiscal) Year!
The Board of Directors at their last meeting approved the FY23 operations and capital expenditure budgets.
We plan to roll out a few significant changes in the coming year that include some upgrades at each of our retail locations. Our goal is to improve your shopping experience, allow for greater efficiencies that support overall environmental, and financial sustainability.
Reducing Lines
To help reduce lines at the registers, early this fall we will be converting two existing lanes to four self-checkout registers at Willy West as a test to see if shoppers like this option. We will continue to have full-service lanes open at all times, and staff will be available to assist those at the self-checkout.
Older Service Cases
We have plans to replace some of our older service cases that were used to display and sell prepared foods and other items and install energy-efficient cases that allow for greater flexibility in how product is stored and displayed. This new equipment will also reduce food waste and loss which is good for the environment, community, and Co-op.
Closing the Fiscal Year
We still need to close the previous fiscal year, which ends July 3. Preparations are well underway for the annual financial audit and we expect to receive the final report in late August or early September. And, for the first time ever, due to the change in timing of the Annual Meeting from July to October, we will be able to share our audited financial results at the Annual Meeting. Look for updates about the Annual Meeting later this summer. We hope to see you there.
REMINDER: Owner Perks at Festivals
As we mentioned last month, we are giving away up to 4,500 Festival Perks Passes, each good for half-priced food and beverages at one of three local festivals (1,500 Passes per festival). Starting at 11:00am on July 2 at Willy East only, Owners can start picking up Passes for Fete de Marquette, which will be valid 4:00pm until 7:00pm on the first evening of Fete (Thursday, July 14). Later this summer, we’ll also be giving away Passes at Willy West for the Middleton Good Neighbor Festival in August, and at Willy North for the Northside Festival in September. See more information in Kristina’s article on pages 16-17.
Willy West Mural
Dane Arts Mural Arts (DAMA) will be working with the Co-op and members of the west side community to collectively paint the new mural for Willy West. Look for your chance to get involved in this fun and exciting work. The mural will be mounted in early October and dedicated to the community.
Riverwest Co-op Grocery and Cafe
If you live in or visit the Milwaukee area, please check out Riverwest Co-op! They are experiencing hard times at this time, and they need sales to keep the doors open for business. Riverwest is located at 733 E. Clarke Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.