News

Co-op doors will stay open

Despite doubts about a possible closing, the iconic and historic Mifflin Street Co-op will stay open. The establishment has suffered business losses and is currently sitting in debt.

Members of the co-op, who met Monday night, overwhelmingly voted in favor of taking out a loan and devising a new business plan to help the struggling business.

This, members hope, will make the store more profitable, as opposed to selling the business to cover its current debt.

Located at 32 N. Bassett St., the Mifflin Street Co-op opened in 1969 and has made its mark on Madison history, said K.P. Whaley, one of the co-op collective managers. It was the site of the original Mifflin Street Block Party as part of the "Miffland" anti-Vietnam War hub.

"It has a long historical background in terms of fighting against corporate groceries," he said. "And it's got a long history of food politics and educating consumers on the benefits and values of eating organic food."

Whaley said the store must stay open, not only because of its historical importance to the community, but also the role it plays in Madison. He noted the establishment serves as a "very beneficial" part of the neighborhood and also in the city through supplying organic and natural foods.

"We were losing business, and we were slow to respond to those changes," he said. "By the time we realized it was happening, we had gotten ourselves in a little bit of a financial problem."

According to Whaley, the 37-year-old store's original mission lives on today.

"We're tying to make it affordable to eat healthy," he said.

Although the co-op was running profitably in the 1990s, it has experienced severe financial troubles in recent years. Construction near the store, the entry of Capitol Centre Foods nearby and the changing face of the neighborhood collectively contributed to the store's economic loss, Whaley said.

Members of the co-op have devised a new business plan to help overcome the store's current financial burden. According to the plan, the co-op will seek out a loan between $100,000 and $130,000 and will also double the number of volunteers working at the store.

"The whole plan hinges on the volunteers right now," Whaley said.

Additionally, Karen Foxgrover, who was recently voted onto the co-op's board of directors, said she admires the store and wants to see it live on.

"The co-op is a community icon, it's important to us and we need to keep it," she said, adding she has been with the store for more than 20 years because she admires its mission.

"It was a small grocery store, and I just liked its whole concept," she said. "It's not a big corporation [whose] No. 1 motive is greed."

Foxgrover voted in favor of sustaining the establishment, adding it has a significant role in the local community.

With an increased number of volunteers, the management staff will have time to actually manage, Whaley added.

In the past, the shortage of volunteers has forced the managers to stock groceries, run the registers and maintain the store's daily upkeep. With more volunteers to do this work, the management will have more time to plan, advertise and fundraise.

In addition, a subcommittee was created to focus on outreaching and fundraising to help overcome the co-op's debt. Both Whaley and Foxgrover expressed confidence in the new business plan.

But for now, the eclectic Mifflin store will carry on, business as usual.