A Brief History of Willy Street Co-op

1101 Williamson St, 1973.	1973 Williamson Street Grocery Co-op incorporates and starts searching for a storefront. Some produce sales start in 1101 Williamson St., Madison–Nature's Bakery Co-op's basement at the time and currently Mother Fools Coffeehouse.
1014 Williamson St, 1977. 1st Co-op Store Front.	1974 Co-op opens at 1014 Williamson St. (currently Petinary Clinic) in October with six full-time staff members, 900 sq. ft. of retail floor space, and a little storage space. The retail space offered produce and bulk foods, as well as a limited supply of packaged foods and convenience products such as toilet paper, matches, etc. The first volunteer staff is formed.
1202 Williamson St, 1970s. Peace Protest.	1977 Co-op moves to 1202 Williamson St. (currently Social Justice Center). New coolers, shelving, and shopping carts are purchased from Strickler's Market to equip the new store. By the next year, sales had doubled.
1202 Williamson St, 1980s.	1983 Co-op memberships change from "Lifetime" to "Fair Share.” New bulk bins are installed, bringing most bulk dispensing up to health codes. With much staff opposition, co-op extends shopping hours to 9pm. Year ends with a large loss of $33,000, mostly due to low margins and a high payroll. Scales at the register improve bulk accuracy.
1202 Williamson St, 1980s.	1986 Co-op expands into 1206 Williamson St, which had been Clyde’s Appliance Store, doubling the size of the store to 3,100 sq. ft. Willy Street Co-op Deli is created.
Anya Firszt, 1990s.	1996 Anya Firszt is hired as the General Manager. She had previously held several positions at the Co-op, including clerk, assistant produce manager, grocery manager, and merchandiser.
1221 Williamson St, 1999. Staff bowling in basement before remodel.	1999 Co-op moves into 1221 Williamson St. (currently Willy East), the former home of the Fraternal Order Eagles. Co-op Owners helped to move products from the old store to the new store by passing them along a human chain—talk about cooperation!
1882 E Main St, 2005. Ribbon cutting at Production Kitchen grand opening.	2005 A production kitchen is opened at 1882 E. Main St. The kitchen will provide most deli and bakery products for the store as well as making food for a catering program. Co-op ends negotiations to open a store in the Monroe Commons site, citing high rent and lease terms. Trader Joe’s would go on to open a store in that space.
CHIP™ LOGO.	2008 Co-op becomes only business collecting Community CHIP™ for Community Shares of Wisconsin. From 1978-2024, over $4 million has been collected for local nonprofits.
6825 University ave, 2010. ribbon cutting at Willy West grand opening.	2010 Willy West opens at 6825 University Ave. in Middleton, becoming one of a few US food co-ops to make the leap to having multiple stores. The store is 9,600 sq. ft. (only 100 sq. ft. more than Willy East at the time).
2817 N Sherman Ave, 2016. Willy North facade with new logo.	2016 Willy North opens at 2817 N. Sherman Ave. in Madison. The Northside Planning Council had lobbied the Co-op to consider the location when they became aware that Pierce’s Northside Market would be closing.
6825 University ave, 2018. Construction at Willy West.	2018 Willy West expands into neighboring mall space, adding about 3,500 square feet of retail space and more backstock space.
2020, Union Cab delivering groceries during Covid pandemic.	2020 The Co-op institutes COVID-19 pandemic precautions, including customer capacity limits, closing the salad bars and hot bars, shorter store hours, and improving our online ordering/curbside pickup process.
1226 Williamson, 2024, Aubergine at night.	2024 Aubergine: a Willy Street Co-op Community Space opens at 1226 Williamson St. The space once again provides a place for Co-op classes and private rentals after Willy East began using its former Community Room for much-needed storage!