Kopp's site gets no co-op interest

By Judy Newman, Wisconsin State Journal

December 14, 2000

Leaders of three Madison grocery cooperatives say they're not interested in taking over Ken Kopp's Fine Foods.

The West Side grocery store, at 1864 Monroe St., plans to close next spring and make way for a Walgreen drug store to be built.

Financially struggling Regent Market Cooperative, 2136 Regent St., has no money for a move, general manager Woody Osborne said.

But even more important, "this place has survived because it's in its space," Osborne said, of the building that has housed a grocery for nearly three-quarters of a century.

The Mifflin Street Community Co-op, 32 N. Bassett St., has been struggling with limited space and a shrinking membership of 1,300, down from 2,300 in June 1999.

But a move to the Ken Kopp's site is "not the most favorable solution," said Cheryl Janowsky, one of the co-op's managers.

The Downtown co-op was formed in 1969 over fears a neighborhood grocery store at the site would be taken over by a convenience store chain and has been a symbol of social and political activism.

"With the history of the building, I think a lot of people want to hold on to that nostalgia," Janowsky said.

The Williamson Street Grocery Co-op, 1221 Williamson St., tripled its size in 1999 and added a juice bar, coffee bar, seafood center and expanded deli.

While some of the co-op's nearly 10,000 members have pressed for a West Side location such as Ken Kopp's, it's not likely to happen, marketing manager Michael "Otis" Lavitschke said.

"It might be in the back of some people's minds," he said. "But it is not in the best interest of the co-op. It would put a huge strain on members."

The key to success for a grocery cooperative is to fulfill the needs of its members and its community, Lavitschke said.

"Our mission is to serve the near East Side of Madison," he said.

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Last Modified: 22-Apr-08 12:30 PM

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