Mayor Joins the Co-op at Grand Opening
Mayor Chris Beutler spoke at the Grand Opening ribbon cutting October 16, 2009
Mayor Chris Beutler and his wife Judy became members of Open Harvest after our Grand Opening, as promised during his speech at the ribbon cutting ceremony October 16. As of January 2010, we now have over 3300 active member-owners of the co-op. The Lincoln City Chamber of Commerce helped organize the ribbon cutting. Open Harvest is a member of the chamber, and many chamber members were present.
Chef Judy ala carte broadcast from KFOR radio with a live remote from the store that morning. The bakery served chocolate cake and Cultiva provided free organic coffee. There were drawings for bicycles, rain barrels, cookbooks, and gift cards. The Grand opening was the beginning of a four week celebration where more prizes were given away, and great sales were held in multiple departments on many items.
The Board of Directors came in to greet and welcome the membership and lots of new customers. The staff worked day and night to prep the food, stock the shelves, and polish the store to make it shine. We appreciate all of the efforts of our board, volunteers, staff, and especially our member loaners that help to bring Open Harvest to this new era.
Overall, since the Grand Opening, our store sales have been on target to begin paying back our bank debt and saving funds to meet our obligations to repay our member loans.
Customer comments about the new store since the Grand Opening have been terrific!
Grand Opening - Open Harvest Co-op Begins a New Era
By Jim Nelson, General Manager
From its start in 1975 to October of 2009, Open Harvest has changed from a small humble store on 27th and Randolph to a full service co-op market with nearly 3,200 active members.
On the morning of October 16th, our new era of history begins. A Grand Opening celebration will take place at 9:00 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Mayor Chris Beutler. The renovated store features larger aisles, a fourth check stand, and a full-service customer service desk. The emphasis is still on fresh, local, and organic, as these are our roots and mission.
With almost 10,000 square feet of total store space there will be a large increase in refrigerated retail space. Most of our departments will be expanded, some more than others. We've added a new full-service customer service desk to sell stamps, process memberships, and answer shoppers' questions.
The meat and seafood department grew the most, by 150%, with a new case, full-service seafood counter, and dedicated cooler. The co-op works closely with local ranchers to source locally raised natural and organic beef, pork, chicken and other meats, and fish.
One of the many highlights is our new grab-n-go cooler featuring ready- to-eat meals, salads, and sandwiches prepared on site by Open Harvest's Deli. Other prepared, healthy foods and green salads are also available, as well as fresh baked-from-scratch desserts and treats from the in-house Bakery. The cheese department will gain a service counter offering cut-to-order chunks. The produce aisle now features five new tables stacked with organic vegetables and fruit, one showcasing our local farm produce.
Our bulk section features over 400 selections. We now offer fresh ground peanut butter again.
The supplements and body care department added a cooler for refrigerated nutritional oils and probiotics. We've also added a much larger selection of pet food, paper products and cleaning supplies.
The expansion has been accomplished almost entirely through local support. Union Bank and 86 Open Harvest member- owners financed the project with member loans supporting 25% percent. Union Bank & Trust has remained a strong partner. We've tried to hire as many local companies as possible to do the work. Sandquist Construction is our general contractor and they have hired the best subcontractor.
Our new space will have a great number of recycled products. Straw Sticks & Bricks donated a 6-foot x 3-foot recycled glass countertop for the deli. Recycled store fixtures came from Linens n' Things as well as Circuit City. Screen Ink crafted matching in-store signs from recycled wood. Our new light fixtures are much more effcient and save a great deal of energy costs. Our new refrigerated cases are ozone-friendly and almost 100% reconditioned. All of our old fixtures were recycled after they were removed from the store. We have chosen zero-VOC paint.
The expansion begins a new era in Open Harvest's 34-year history of growth and service to the local community. We hope you will join us for our Grand Opening and that you will enjoy shopping our new space. Thank you for supporting your co-op.
For past information regarding expansion, see our Expansion Archive.