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It?s Saturday afternoon at the Willy Street Co-op, and Shaneiquia Conklin restocks aisle three for the second time. She adds ?Amy?s Lentil Vegetable Soup? to an already lengthy list, eyes the shelves and heads back to the stockroom.

In the produce section, the fair trade bananas from Ecuador almost sell out. There is a six-person line for organic coffee beans, and the deli?s zucchini feta casserole is three-quarters gone.

Due to concerns about overcrowding, the co-op plans to open a downtown location at the corner of North Broom and West Mifflin streets, a central location for many University of Wisconsin students. Although uncertainty over funding may delay the project, management is confident they will be able to open a store within the next few months.

?People are shopping almost as quickly as we get our products onto the shelves,? said Brendon Smith, Willy Street Co-op communications director. ?The parking lot is full and we can?t get any more deliveries than we already get. So, we started looking for a few options so we can manage our new environment. We just had to figure out how to do that.?

The new store will be located in the first floor of the Metropolitan Place Phase II condominium complex, across the street from Capitol Centre Market.

Based on four years of research and downtown property tours, management chose the new location because of accessibility to bikers, buses and pedestrians, high customer expectancy and sufficient parking. Though the two locations will slightly differ ? the new store will serve beer, wine and more ready-made products ? the basic produce, deli, grocery and health and wellness format will be identical.

According to Smith, the expected number of student shoppers also influenced the new store?s location. Student membership increases at the start of every school year, he said.

?This store is quite a ways from campus; it?s really not that easy to get to,? Smith said. ?Despite that, there are students who come here. I think students are interested in the co-op model of business: sustainability, organic and local food, and we embody all those things.?

The new store?s proximity to Capitol Centre Market, a mainstream grocery that sells typical items, won?t be a problem, according to Capitol Centre owner Mitch Eveland. Eveland welcomes the opening of Mifflin Street Co-op and sees an opportunity for the stores to complement each other.

?Both stores offer different product lines,? Eveland said. ?Customers are going to have to go with their feet to find what they?re looking for. There?s a better chance at having a fuller cart between both stores than just at one.?

Eveland said Capitol Centre Market has also seen a recent demand for organic products. The store added about 2,000 new items to its shelves, including more healthy and natural brands. According to Eveland, students make up a large percentage of his customers.

?The customers requested those products,? Eveland said. ?But we?ve also seen a higher demand for food in general, meaning Oreos, Doritos and pizza. The downtown area is obviously thriving. I welcome [Willy Street Co-op] as a neighbor ? they?ll help us serve our customers even better.?

Organic products are usually more expensive than generic brands, though some students are willing to compromise for quality shopping. Madison is home to 11 cooperative houses, all of which only purchase food from co-op grocery stores. The majority of organic shoppers are college graduates, according to a 2002 study by Cooperative Development Services, a local organization that promotes sustainable development.

?I imagine it will be easier for us to get a wider variety of food,? said Nick Heckman, produce buyer at Emma Goldman cooperative. ?[Co-op grocery stores] are a little different than most commercial groceries, so in that regard it?s a political decision to spend more.?

?This store provides a place for students to shop for mostly health food, and is an alternative to Capitol Centre Foods,? said Matthew Keiser, a frequent shopper at Willy Street Co-op. ?I think students are willing to pay money for better quality foods, and if more people buy organically, the prices will go down.?

Because most Willy Street Co-op shoppers don?t buy 100 percent organic, it?s hard to tell how typical grocery stores will be affected, according to Smith. Most Willy Street Co-op customers usually pick and choose which products to buy conventionally, he said.

?I think it depends on the product,? Smith said. ?Most people can handle buying conventional bananas, but they always want organic milk. ? You decide what you want that?s organic, natural, local ? whatever. I think it?s really a spectrum and everybody can find somewhere on the spectrum to shop.?