Have a comment or request you’d like to share? We would love to hear from you!
Bulk Tamari
I’ve been purchasing tamari in bulk for a long time at Willy Co-op West. When I went there
today, there was no tamari in bulk. Why was it dropped from the liquid bulk items? Do you plan to be bringing it back in the future?
Thank you for your comments and questions!! We stopped carrying it due to low sales. We do not plan on bringing it back. I am sorry to disappoint you. I appreciate you letting us know what you are looking for in our stores! Have an excellent week!! -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager
Slotted Spoons at Salad Bar
Several times I have asked about using slotted spoons at the salad bar, for the radishes and celery that are kept in water. I was even told that they have slotted spoons in the kitchen! To me it seems unresponsive that no one bothers to change the establishments habits, when it would be such a simple fix, and no one that i’m sure other co-op shoppers would also appreciate!! Maybe its a small gripe but it continues to frustrate me! Thanks for hearing me out… maybe I will see a change one day soon ( I hope ). Sincerely, long-time Co-op Shopper
Thank you so much for taking the time to fill out a customer comment form and I’m sorry to hear you are frustrated. I’ll start my response by saying that this is the first time this request has made it to me and for that I apologize. I will work with the Deli staff to find a way to better communicate feedback they are getting on the floor to the supervisors and managers. We are always looking for ways that we can do better and customer feedback is one of the best ways for us to hear how we can improve our services. Thank you also for your suggestion. We currently use tongs with the radishes and the celery and for many of the other salad bar offerings as well. The tongs have been preferred over spoons by customers over the years because they find it easier to pick up the veggies and transport them to the boxes without dropping them. I do see where a slotted spoon would be useful in some cases though. So I did a quick poll of some of our regular salad bar shoppers and they overwhelmingly told me they preferred to stick with the tongs. I’m still open to being convinced on this change but I think for now we will keep using the tongs. Please let me know if there’s something I’m not seeing that might tip the scales towards slotted spoons. Thank you again for the suggestion. -Bob Smith, East Deli Manager
Sundays at North
On Sundays during the Farmers’ Market it has become very difficult to find parking and find a bathroom. As the market has grown exponentially to be more of a fair than a farmers’ market, I stopped going. On Sunday, I went into the coop to find a line of 6 people waiting for the bathrooms. Perhaps the bathrooms should be for shoppers at the co-op rather than the fair. I am disabled where I need access to a bathroom. Perhaps the Farmers’ Market should consider getting their own restrooms.
Thank you for reaching out and sharing your experience with me. I am so sorry you had such a long wait to use one of our restrooms. I can’t imagine what an uncomfortable and unpleasant experience that was for you. The farmers market has indeed grown in size since we moved into our location at Willy North. I acknowledge that this does reduce the number of available parking spots directly in front of the store, however it is really important to us to support the farmers market, and the end of our parking lot is the best place for the market to set up. Regarding our restrooms, we certainly want our customers to have access to the restrooms whenever they need them. Unfortunately, there are times throughout the day and week when all of them are in use and there is a wait. The farmers market having portable restrooms could potentially reduce how often that happens on Sunday mornings and I’m happy to pass along the suggestion to them. Thanks again for sharing your experience. -Jenny Skowronek, Willy North Store Director
Sushi
My spouse buys up to three boxes of sushi at a time, but then doesn’t eat it for several days. I’m wondering how long the different types of sushi keep in the refrigerator, whether freezing is okay, and whether raw vs cooked ingredients affects the timeline for safe storage.
Thank you for your recent email regarding sushi best-by dates. I reached out to Joe, who owns and operates Mamachit Sushi and produces the sushi sold in our stores. He recommends any of his products be consumed within 24 hours of purchase, and does not recommend freezing. I hope this information is helpful, and have a great day! -Nick Heitman, Category Manager: Meat, Seafood, Beer, Wine & Spirits
Weeds at Willy West
Today (Wed., July 24th, 2024) I was eating lunch at one of the outdoor tables at Willy West during the noon-hour. A man with a spray bottle of weed killer was spraying the few weeds growing in the cracks between the sidewalk sections while I and others were eating. I’m assuming he works for the mall owner, but it was upsetting to know that I had just spent a couple hundred dollars buying organic products, including my red-curry tofu wrap, only to have weed killer sprayed a few feet from me and my food. Could you please ask the mall owner if they could hand pull the weeds or schedule weed spraying at a different time?
Thank you for bringing this concern to our attention. We understand your frustration regarding the weed spraying incident at Willy West earlier today. However, it’s important to note that the strip mall maintenance and landscaping activities, including weed control, are managed by the mall owner and not directly under our store’s jurisdiction. We appreciate your suggestion regarding alternative times for weed spraying or the method used. We will forward your feedback to the mall management team promptly so they can consider your concerns and possibly adjust their maintenance schedule accordingly. Thank you again for taking the time to share your feedback. -Frantseska Kois, Willy West Store Director
Perks Pass
We enjoyed the Festival Perk Pass last month at La Fete. I asked a vendor how this works (did they get reimburses or something to help fund the discount). They said they did not get reimbursed by the coop. We were surprised. I guess we shifted from free meal provided by the coop (a few years ago) to really having the vendors bearing the burden of this perk. Am I getting that right? For now, we’ve decided not to seek or use the perk pass to help the vendors make ends meet. If you can explain the change I would appreciate it. Thank you.
Thanks for your question! With the Good Neighbor Festival and the Northside Festival, the organizers collect the amount to be redeemed for food and beverage vendors, we send the organizers a check, and they reimburse the vendors. Fete organizers preferred to handle it another way, with the vendors getting a break on the booth fee. We make it clear to Fete organizers that we do NOT want vendors taking on any hardship to be able for us to offer the half-priced meals and beverages. I will follow up with Fete organizers about this (without mentioning your name). Please feel free to share my contact information with that vendor so they can share their perspective with me, if they are comfortable doing so–I would share the concern but not the identity of the vendor when talking with Fete organizers. We at the Co-op are very invested in the Perks Pass being a good thing for Owners, festival organizers, and festival vendors–if it’s not working for the Fete vendors, we’ll be addressing that. Have a nice weekend! -Brendon Smith, Marketing & Communications Director
Apeel Coating
Hi there! I am inquiring today regarding whether you stock products with the Apeel coating. I love Willy Street and this has become a very important factor in my shopping. Thanks so much!
Hi, We do not carry any products that have been treated with apeel. -Andy Johnston, Produce Category Manager
Alive Mushroom Elixir
Hello! Alive mushroom elixir makes a Matcha Vanilla and/or Matcha Cream Soda. I’ve been having a really hard time finding these, not just at the co-op, so I think they might be phasing it out? If either of these flavors still exist I would love love love for it to come back please. I drank like 3 of those bad boys a week and now I can never find them and I’ve been searching for a similar product but nothing quite scratches the itch. Thank you!!!
Hi, Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback with us. Sorry to hear that you’re no longer able to find one of your favorite beverages. Fortunately, it looks like the Matcha Vanilla is currently available to us. I wasn’t able to locate the Matcha Cream Soda within our distribution. I assume that the Matcha Vanilla is either replacing this, or they are in the process of transitioning the Matcha Vanilla to the Cream Soda. I plan on placing an order for this product by the end of the week, so you should hopefully be seeing this back on our shelves sometime next week. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Thanks! -Dave Andrews, Willy West Grocery Manager
