By: Kristina Kuhaupt, Customer Experience Manager
In the first year of Aubergine (our community space across the street from Willy East), we have had eight local artists’ Gallery Nights, several Co-op 50th anniversary celebration events, nearly 70 private and public cooking and wellness classes, and 130 rentals including our first commercial kitchen rental. Although these black-and-white numbers are guideposts of success, they do not fully capture the essence of the space and what these numbers mean from a human emotion perspective. When I reflect upon these numbers, what comes to my mind are two parallel thoughts: the early months of hopeful anticipation that the community would find this space valuable, and now, a year later, amazement at all of the smiles, laughter, and joy that this space has produced. It truly has been a privilege to witness first-hand. Additionally, I can’t continue on without honoring the amazing work my team has put into this space. I am truly blessed to have the best team who thoughtfully cares about every detail and interaction. Without Amanda, Katie, Beth, Mike, Liz, and Rosalyn, this place would not be what you see today, and I want to thank them for caring deeply that this place stands tall even as we are building the roadmap together one event at a time—thank you!
A year ago this week, we were celebrating our grand opening. As you can see from the pictures, it was a vibrant event filled with colorful artwork from Roscoe Mitchell, lively music pouring in from Cafe CODA, yummy food catered by our very own General Manager, Anya, and Finance Director, Paige, in a room filled to the brim with community, organizations, business, Board Members, and staff supporters. As we head into the same week this year, the space will transform on March 7th from 5-8pm into a similar community celebration, and you’re invited to this free event! View the work of several local jazz-themed visual artists in our gallery space including: George Johnson (photographs), Jerry Jordan (paintings), Martel Chapman (paintings), “The Artist,” and Douglas Ewart (paintings and sculpture), and enjoy delicious appetizers from our budding catering due of our GM and Finance Director.
Belonging: what does this word mean to you? Well, the dictionary defines it as a “close relationship where one feels welcome.” Huh, that sounds familiar, does it not? All this time, after 50 years, your local Co-op’s vision is to not only provide access to a sustainable, accessible, and equitable food system but to also be a true community partner where you can participate and gather together.
This space is for the community, and we want you to continue utilizing this space for your celebrations, anniversaries, memorials, trainings, gatherings, potlucks, clothing swaps, cook-offs, business ventures, team-building, relaxation, wellness activities, and everything in between. It is a place to laugh, smile, cry, marvel, learn, release, and enjoy the concept of ‘togetherness.’ By gathering together as a community, we celebrate both loudly and quietly our similarities, and more importantly our differences, which is a beautiful thing to witness. So let us continue in this venture together as we look forward to what the next 50 years have to offer!
Speaking of 50 years, I cannot highlight Aubergine without mentioning our 50th Anniversary Farm-to-Table Dinner that took place during our anniversary month, October 2024. WOW, was that a night to remember! It was one of the most memorable nights at Aubergine, filled with founding members of our Co-op, local producers/farmers, Owners, and a seven-course dinner honoring the local food you see in our stores each and every week. A special thanks to our very own Chef Mike Tomaloff for making this event come to life—your dedication to honoring not only our Co-op but our local producers and farmers was spectacular. Additionally, thank you to the Customer Experience team (mentioned above) and Steffry Langham for seamlessly facilitating a packed house for this special occasion!
For me, a retrospective not only looks back at what was accomplished but also looks to the future of a beautiful horizon of the endless possibilities yet to happen. And that is what Aubergine ultimately is: a kaleidoscope of possibilities for the community we serve. The beauty of a kaleidoscope is that it is an instrument, or in our case, a space, that reflects the colorful patterns present, coming together to produce a unique work of art through each and every turn of the space through all the different events that take place. You, the community, determine the next beautiful gathering that Aubergine reflects, and we are excited to see what the space holds in year two! Cheers, everyone, to this first year of building, gathering, celebrating, and exploring together!
If you are interested in taking a cooking or wellness class at Aubergine, please visit: www.willystreet.coop/aubergine-events
If you’re interested in renting Aubergine, please visit: www.willystreet.coop/community-spaces
