Starting in October 2024, we’ll be celebrating 50 years of locally growing. We’ll have extra events and giveaways throughout the year, as well as be sharing historical photos, ads, illustrations, videos, and stories. We’ll add to this page throughout the year. If you have a bit of Co-op history to share, please let us know! Email us at info@willystreet.coop.
Willy Street Co-op Timeline
1973
September:The Co-op becomes incorporated. and a search for identity begins (i.e., capital equipment and storefront).
1974
February: Sales begin operating from Nature’s Bakery location at the time, 1101 Williamson Street (currently Mother Fools Coffeehouse). At this point the Co-op is just a small produce operation, but bonds start being sold to generate capital for expansion.
May: Equipment is located at Country Boy Dairy.
August: A lease is signed for the storefront located at 1014 Williamson Street, which consists of 900 square feet and a little storage space (currently the Petinary Veterinary Clinic). The first volunteer staff is formed.
September: The first membership meeting Is held to discuss the new store. Mark-up is set at 25% above cost.
October: The store opens with the help of Intra-Community Co-op’s (I.C.C.) trucks and volunteer labor. The starting capital is a meager $3,000 collected from bonds, personal loans. and credit from I.C.C.
October (through January 1975): There is a six-member, full-time staff running the store with help from volunteers.
1976
March:Memberships become lifetime, not annual.
1977
June & July:The storefront at 1202 Williamson becomes available, and the staff and members start discussing its possibilities. The new storefront offers many advantages: more storage space, wider product line, less crowding, and greater accessibility for the elderly and people with disabilities (the old store had a flight of stairs in front of it). A decision is made to move to the 1202 storefront.
August: New coolers, shelving, and shopping carts are purchased from Strickler’s Market to equip the new store.
September: A lease is signed for the storefront at 1202 Williamson Street.
September through December: Preparation is done for the new store; conveyor is built, walk-in coolers are restored, and shelving, electrical, and plumbing work is carried out.
End of October: Willy Street Co-op moves to its 1202 location. The sales double, causing the workload to increase, and the seven-member staff is overworked.
1978
January & February:One full-timer and three contract laborers are hired to ease the workload on the staff.
March: Membership meetings are no longer held bimonthly and start being held semi-annually, since not enough members were attending them.
May:One more full-time worker is hired since business and, consequently, workload continues to Increase.
August:Four part-time workers are hired.
September: At the September membership meeting, there is the start of the controversy over the power structure at the store. A proposal is submitted for an activated Board of Directors.
October: The co-op is picketed by “Members for a Democratic Co-op,” who claim that the workers are taking over the co-op and are trying to eliminate membership control.
October through March 1979:Membership meetings are held monthly at this time; members and staff work together to determine what function the Board of Directors should serve.
Month unknown: Co-op begins collecting Community CHIP™ for Community Shares of Wisconsin.
1979
March: Six new Directors are elected to initiate and participate in the communications, education, joint-finance, and product-selection committees. Monthly Board meetings are established.
June through January 1980: The store loses money for the first time in its new location. Restructuring discussions on working conditions begin, which include pay and benefit policies, organization of decision-making powers, and specialization of work.
1980
January:Business picks up and the store starts recovering its losses.
May: Specialized volunteer workshops begin being offered on a regular basis.
August: A new ventilation system is installed in the basement of the Co-op to alleviate excessive heat from the coolers’ compressors.
1981
January:A new tile floor is installed, and the store is repainted.
Throughout 1981:The store discontinues being closed on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to stock the shelves. Staff embarks on what turns out to be a two-year restructuring process. Store loses $21,000 that year.
1982
Month unknown:Shopper sues the co-op for a dog bite received outside the store. (Co-op loses.)
April: First electronic cash register is bought. Second one is bought in July of the same year.
September: Sales start to plateau. Restructuring process ends and the co-op’s first job descriptions are In place, including one for the co-op’s first general manager.
1983
March:Co-op memberships change from “Lifetime” to “Fair Share.”
June:The new bulk bins are Installed, bringing most bulk dispensing up to health codes.
June: With much staff opposition, co-op extends shopping hours to 9pm.
September: Year ends with a large loss of $33,000, mostly due to low margins and a high payroll.
November:Scales at the register improve bulk accuracy.
1984
May:Twenty thousand dollars raised In a member bond drive to help ease cash flow. Bonds were $500 each.
Throughout 1984: Board of Directors and general manager start exploring expansion and/or moving because the co-op is outgrowing its space.
September: A much smaller loss of $5,700 is shown for fiscal year ’83-’84.
1985
Throughout 1985: Plannlng for expansion into the storefront at 1206 Williamson street—the old Clyde’s appliance store—begins. This will double the size of the store.
June: The Co-op starts selling beer.
1986
January: Expansion completed; Willy Street Deli created.
1987
February:Staff is dissatisfied: payroll ls out of control. A new worker co-op (Community Management Group) is proposed.
June: Total organizational restructuring comes about. creating a hierarchical management structure and differential wages.
October: C.M.G. is adopted by a large margin. Willy Street store sales are again on the increase.
1988
January: New compensation package for workers is adopted.
April: Dissatisfaction with changes brought about by C.M.G. increasing. Workers attempt creation of a union, which is narrowly voted down by staff. An action is filed with the National Labor Relations Board, then dropped. C.M.G. and worker body create “Social Council” to improve working conditions and advocate for workers.
October: Sales continue to climb.
1989
October: C.M.G. contracts with Basics, a natural foods store in Janesville. Willy Street Co-op sales still going strong.
1990
January: Co-op purchases new registers with increased capabilities for data collection and retrieval, allowing for greater inventory control and making member patronage rebates a realistic possibility.
March: Cooperative Management Group (C.M.G.) contracts with North Farm Co-operative warehouse to provide labor at Magic Mill Natural Foods Market, their retail store on Madison’s west side.
July: Willy Street Co-op discontinues the sale of beer.
August: C.M.G. dissolves its contract with Willy Street Co-op as part of its own dissolution, a result of too-rapid expansion, burnout on Board and management level, and a lack of member support. Willy Street Co-op again becomes an employer.
Fall: Because the building the store occupies is up for sale, Willy Street Co-op starts gathering information on whether to buy the building or move to another location.
November: H.A.B.A. (Health & Beauty Aids) Department is expanded. Third annual Fall Farm Tour.
December: Willy Street Co-op begins to sell Wisconsin State Journals and Capital Times.
1991
January: Willy Street Co-op loses $18,000) first quarter of fiscal year (October 1 – December 31), which effectively cools plans for moving to a different location.
February: A handicapped parking place Is designated in front of the Co-op.
March: Kate Heiber-Cobb resigns as the General Manager. Patty Stockdale becomes the interim General Manager as the Board Personnel Committee begins a candidate search. There are not enough members at the General Membership Meeting to reach quorum; the Board of Directors chooses Pat Smith and Mark Tarantino to fill two of its empty seats.
May: Willy Street Co-op moves Into the black for the fiscal year due to increased sales and reduced costs (inventory, payroll, and shrinkage).
June: A large portion of the meat line is eliminated from the Deli due to low sales.
August: Willy Street Co-op purchases the building at 1202 Williamson Street. After a nationwide search for a new General Manager, the Board offers the position to Patty Stockdale. She accepts.
October: The 1990/1991 fiscal year ends with Willy Street Co-op almost $22,000 in the black (before taxes). The fourth-annual Fall Farm Tour is co-sponsored with Mifflin Street Co-op, Wisconsin Rural Development Center, and the Four Lakes Sierra Club.
November:The Deli gets a new two-door freezer that allows for better product display and some new items (i.e., Wolferman’s Muffins and Crumpets).
1992
January: Willy Street Co-op begins “Organic Market Basket” program, which offers a lower price on a selection of natural and organic foods and products.
March: In a charged General Membership Meeting, proposed bylaw changes are passed and turned down. Two of the changes are that the Board Personnel Committee is now composed of three workers. the GM, and three Board members; and that the annual meeting will be in September instead of March.
Spring: Sales are up 5%! No one knows quite why.
May:The Personnel Policy is updated: higher pay for level 1 and 2 employees, though reduced benefits for workers who work less than 25 hours per week.
1999
Month unknown: Willy Street Co-op moves from 1202 Williamson St. to 1221 Williamson St., former home of the Eagles Club. There is 9,500 square feet of retail space and 20,000 square feet overall.
2004
Month unknown: Co-op Owners approve the potential for opening a second store in the former Ken Kopp’s grocery store on Monroe St., part of the Monroe Commons development.
2005
April: 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.
May: 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.
2007
Month unknown: Membership votes again to open a second store; a month later the site is announced as the ground-level commercial space of Phase II of the Metropolitan Place development at the corner of North Broom and West Mifflin streets.
2008
Month unknown:Metropolitan Place’s Phase II development goes into receivership. The co-op votes to end its lease with the development after investing nearly $740,000 in the project.
Month unknown: Willy Street Co-op becomes the sole business to collect Community CHIP™ for Community Shares of Wisconsin.
2010
May: The Owner Bond Drive to raise at least $600,000 ends more than three weeks early, with the limit of $1 million raised by May 4.
November:Willy West opens. The store is 9,600 sq. ft. (only 100 more than Willy East at the time). The Parkwood Plaza shopping center has 142 parking spaces, with 80 dedicated to the Co-op, which everyone considers far more than the Co-op will ever need. (Willy East has 42 parking spaces.)
2013
July: Owners approve a $4 million remodeling project for Willy East.
2014
September: Willy East remodel completed. The project moved the Juice & Coffee Bar; expanded dry, cooler, and freezer storage; added office space; upgraded the community room, added gender-neutral bathrooms, improved the entrance/exit, and reconfigured the courtyard.
2015
February:Co-op staff union vote fails.
2016
May: Pierce’s Northside Market closes and Willy Street Co-op—North construction starts. The Co-op has a booth at the Sunday Northside Farmers Market to offer some staple products until the store opens. An Owner Bond Drive begins to sell $1.5 million Bonds in increments of $500.
August: Willy North opens with 20,000 sq. ft. of retail space and more parking stalls than would ever be needed (the same that was said of Willy West’s parking lot, which has become quite full).
2017
July: Owners approve Willy West expansion. The Hallmark store had closed, so UPS moved into that space so that the Co-op could expand into the former UPS space.
2018
February:The Owner Bond Drive for the Willy West expansion raises the goal amount of $600,000 for the $2.25 million project.
November: Willy West expansion project is completed, adding about 3,500 sq. ft of retail space and more backstock space.
2019
September:Co-op staff votes to unionize.
2020
March: COVID-19 precautions include customer capacity limits, closing the salad bars and hot bars, shorter store hours, and improving our online ordering/curbside pickup process. Over the next few years, the Co-op’s catering program would end, the Juice & Coffee Bars would close, and the Cheese Challenge would be suspended, all at least in part due to issues created or exacerbated by COVID.
2024
March: Aubergine: a Willy Street Co-op Community Space opens, offering space for classes and kitchen rentals.
