by Anya Firszt, General Manager
Hello June - Hello dear Owners.
Why is June so special? June offers many occasions to celebrate, to name a few Pride Month, Juneteenth, Summer Solstice, and Father’s Day.
June is also no better time than to move the heat out of the kitchen and get ready to fire up the grill and show off your barbecue tallents by smoking, braising, grilling and even baking outdoors. If you haven’t tried grilled fruit (peach, plums, nectarines) sangria or pizza on the grill, you are in for a real treat.
Business Matters
Look for a few merchandising changes taking place at each store in the coming month. West has already reset the snack/candy bar/power bar/cookie section in preparation for the refrigerated cheese case turning 90 degrees, which will offer better sightlines to the beer and wine and cheese departments. North is planning for a new cooler to be installed at the end of Aisle One for easy access to single serve beverages. And, finally, East will be using the soon to be vacated juice and coffee bar as a staging area for the EatStreet order and delivery program.
Kids’ Fresh Fruit Basket
We’re finally able to bring back free fruit for kids! Bananas will be available soon to kids while their folks are shopping in the Produce department at each of our sites. Yummy.
Annual Meeting and Election Reminder
As we mentioned in the February newsletter, the Board has decided to move the Annual Meeting and Board Election from July to October, which means the current Board will be seated another four months before the new Board is elected and seated. Look for future updates regarding the details of the upcoming election including candidate statement submission deadline, balloting dates, etc.
Owner Perks at Festivals
With the change of location and date for the Annual Meeting, our presence at La Fete de Marquette will also change. In early July, we will be giving away up to 1,500 lanyards to Owners; the lanyards entitle the bearer to half-priced food and beverages from 4pm until 7pm on the first evening of Fete (Thursday, July 14). We’ll also be giving away lanyards for similar Owner benefits at the Middleton Good Neighbor Festival in August and the Northside Festival in September. Stay tuned for details.
Up & Coming Food Co-op Conference 2022
Last month I shared with you that Willy Street Co-op was to be the host co-op of the annual Up and Coming Food Co-op Conference. Up and Coming is a conference designed specifically for startup co-ops. I am pleased to report that this year’s conference attracted 265 people from 56 startup co-ops from 30 states and Canada. I imagine some of you remember when our Co-op was a startup some 47 year ago. We have more than a few stories to share in all those years with these people, both successes and failures to help them on their way to opening day. Stronger together!
On the Horizon
June marks the end of our fiscal year, and July marks the new fiscal year. Look for updates on the current year’s (FY22) fiscal performance later this summer, as well as a new fiscal year (FY23) operations and capital budgets for your review.
In June, we celebrate the Summer Solstice, which falls this year on June 21. The Solstice marks the start of summer and that one day of the year when we, in the Northern Hemisphere, have the maximum amount of sunlight and the least amount of night. Ah summer.
Next month brings La Fete de Marquette, DakhaBrakha, and the Atwood Festival to those of you who enjoy eating good food and listening to good music.
Mark your calendar - dates all stores are closing at 7:00pm on the following days:
- Year-end inventory count, July 3
- Independence Day, July 4
- Labor Day, September 5
Cheers.