From the Board President: Finding a Home for the Cedar Falls Food Co-op

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, you need a team.” – John Wooden

 

Last month, at an event I attended for my nonprofit day job, I was approached by someone who told me that he heard where the Cedar Falls Food Co-op will be located. “That’s news to me!” I exclaimed. Perhaps you’ve heard a rumor (or two?) as well.

 

Over the years, the Cedar Falls Food Co-op’s board has worked diligently, guiding our development towards the opening of a store much like this one. At each step in the Co-op’s growth, we’ve wrestled with countless issues and have made significant decisions including the name of the Co-op, the amount of a membership, and the qualifications we’ll require from potential general managers.

But the single most important decision the Co-op’s board will make is determining the location for the store. Currently, the Co-op board of directors, along with representatives of the Operations Committee, are working hard to make that decision. And we are not taking that responsibility lightly.

 

Our work is guided by national and local consultants, and we are doing our due diligence in analyzing the market, the competition, and the feasibility of various locations. We are studying other start-up food co-ops across the country, working with existing food co-ops, and diving into research about the few start-ups that haven’t succeeded. And we are working with owners of potential sites to negotiate the best possible arrangement for our store. Our goal has been and will always be to open up a store that will be financially successful.

 

And while the location is part of that, it is also tied to the store size, parking spaces, and even what services and products we offer. These are a lot of moving parts, and the Co-op’s leadership is committed to making the best possible decision while balancing all of these variables along with member-owner’s needs. Yes, we would have liked to have opened a store by now—and we’ve been approached with some offers that may have sped up our process—but ultimately, we feel it’s better to take our time and do it right, rather than rush this process.

 

This community deserves a fantastic food co-op. It will be a pleasant place to shop. It will support local growers. It will help make our community a healthier place to live. But the Co-op must be financially viable. We are not going to invest over $2 million to open a store only to have it close a few years later.

So, bear with us as we work through these details. If you hear about a site know this: It might be a location that we are in negotiations with, but it’s just that – under negotiation. Once a decision is made, we’ll be sure to announce that to the membership first and the community soon after. But we won’t let an external timeline, a site, or a developer guide the decision. We will make the decision based on sound financial and market feasibility studies and projections.

 

Until then, thank you for your patience. And thanks for your continued support of the Cedar Falls Food Co-op.

 

In cooperation,

 

Tom Wickersham

 

 

 

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