Have a comment or request you’d like to share? We would love to hear from you!
Vegan Spicy Mayo
Could the spicy tofu pockets at the deli please be made with vegan spicy mayo? They look so good and seem like it would be an easy change.
Thank you for your recent request regarding vegan spicy mayo in the tofu pockets. These items are produced by Mamachit Sushi, who the Co-op contracts with to produce sushi at our stores. I spoke with the owner of Mamachit, and he let me know that they do not have a vegan mayo option at this time, but he is looking into finding an option. Have a great day! -Nick Heitman, Meat, Seafood, Beer, Wine & Spirits Category Manager
Hot Bar Scale
I believe it would be beneficial to have a scale at the hot bar. That way I can measure out how much I want to grab since you shouldn’t put food back after taking it out of the tray.
I received your question about adding a scale to the hot bar at west, unfortunately this is not something we’re going to be able to do. To be honest the main issues I have with this are about safety, both physical and food safety. From a physical point of view, a scale on top of the hot bar or on it somewhere would take up a lot of space and be prone to getting knocked off. When these scales get knocked off it will also knock it out of calibration too, and that is something we have to pay a service to recalibrate every time so we are in compliance. From a food safety perspective, putting a scale on the hot bar encourages customers to put food back, this creates an unnecessary risk to food safety because if someone with no allergies has two or more items of food in one container and those foods touch, then one of them gets put back, it has now had cross contact with potential allergens. We have a lot of customers who shop at Willy Street that have allergies to foods, and we need to be very mindful of every decision we make, and how it could potentially put someone else’s safety at risk. I hope this explanation helps you understand the decision we’ve made regarding the scale. Respectfully, Nicholas OConnor, Prepared Foods & Cheese Category Manager
Panhandling
There has been an uptick in active panhandling at Willy St. East. While I’m used to the folks standing on the public sidewalk, I’m now regularly approached for money in the parking lot. And today a man asked for food while I was shopping–he approached 3 people in aisle 4 alone! Eventually he found a sympathetic woman who bought him a bag of food. I don’t want to be asked for money or food while shopping at the coop. If you agree this is unacceptable, how do you advise coop shoppers to act when actively solicited?
Thank you for writing in and letting us know about the aggressive nature of individuals asking money and/or resources both inside and outside of our East store. I am very sorry this happened to you on several occasions to the point where it has become very uncomfortable! This is not the experience we want you to have in the parking lot or inside our store, here or any of our stores for that matter. If this should happen again to you, please alert staff either in person or call the store, and they will come out and address the problem. Please know, this has been a topic of conversation both for myself and other leaders of our organization on how we can make this experience for our shoppers better for the future. In cooperation, Kristina Kuhaupt, Customer Experience Manager
Recipes in Reader
I miss the recipes in the Reader.
Thank you for taking the time to give us feedback. I miss the recipes too! I plan to bring them back in some capacity soon. Stay tuned. -Caitlyn Tompkins, Content Specialist
Greek Pasta Salad
Hi there! I have a strange request… back in the late 90s, as a middle schooler, I took flute lessons on Willy street and would usually stop by the coop afterwards to grab something from the deli for dinner. You had this INCREDIBLE Greek pasta salad that included fresh peas, olives, tomatoes, penne pasta, etc. Fast forward to 2024, I’m pregnant and having wild craving for this pasta salad. I’ve been pining after it for weeks. I know it’s a long shot, but do you guys still make this pasta salad in your deli? Does anyone remember the recipe? It would make this pregnant person’s dreams come true to get my hands on some of that incredible pasta salad! Thanks for any help on this.
First off congratulations! I absolutely love hearing from people about a dish we (used to) make that sticks with them for years and has some nostalgia attached to it! The dish I’m quite sure you’re looking for is called Willy the Greek Pasta salad. However, at some point since you’ve had it last it looks like we moved to fusilli noodles instead. As it so happens we have been working on having our menu rotate recipes in and out and we are adding this dish back to our menu. Originally, when I drafted this menu I slotted this to come back the first week of October. However, after getting your comment, I emailed our team and moved it up to be added the first week of July. It will stay on the menu until the first week of January. Hope this helps! -Nicolas O’Connor Prepared Foods & Cheese Category Manager
Bulk Wild Rice
Last month I purchased wild rice from the bulk section. Could you tell me if it was wild harvested or from a paddy? It is good and has kept well. I am simply curious about where and how it was grown?
Thank you for your questions!! Looking at our product movement for the past month, we sell three wild rices in our Bulk section at our East store. One wild rice blend from Lundberg, and two wild rices from North Bay Trading: a Minnesota grown wild rice and a Canadian organic wild rice. I believe the two from North Bay Trading are wild harvested from lakes in those areas. Paddy grown wild rice is usually a deeper black color, and wild harvested rice is slightly lighter in color with almost a greenish brown hue. Wild harvested wild rice grows in lakes and is normally harvested by hand. Have an excellent week!! -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager
Busking
Hello! Prior to the outbreak of COVID19, you allowed community members to sign up to busk at the entrance of the East Side Co-Op. This was an opportunity to foster a sense of community and belonging by bringing people together and creating shared positive experiences. I know members of the community that reminisce over memories of busking at the Co-op and the relationships they built (that they wouldn’t have made otherwise). Busking creates a general sense of well-being and directly contributes to your mission to “cultivate and empower community, customers, employees, and suppliers through cooperative principles and practices.” I am wondering if you would consider starting up that program again? and if not, why?
Thanks for reaching out and inquiring about our busking policy. As you mentioned, this program was suspended during the pandemic and then was re-evaluated once the pandemic started to lift. It was decided to not bring back the program in the way you saw it as in times past. Below are some of the reasons why: Our space(s) are limited, and that prevents us from being able to offer any other types of artists (outside of acoustic musicians) the opportunities to work outside of our stores. We do not allow anyone else to work for, or ask for money/tips, outside our stores. Musicians should be paid for their time, and we prefer to support local events and festivals that are able to pay musicians. Additionally, when new opportunities arise, at our stores too. We very much want to support our local artist communities, both musicians and other art mediums. We piloted last year our Rain Garden Music Sessions at our East store and continued it again this year with a positive community response. Please check out the 2024 lineup: willystreet.coop/rain-garden-sessions. The Co-op pays each artist for their talents each session, which was not able to be done with our previous program. If you, or someone you know, would like to be considered for future upcoming sessions, please send an email to customer.experience@willystreet.coop, and we would be happy to go over more details. Additionally, this year we participated in Make Music Madison at our East store which was really fun to be part of! I hope you find this information helpful, and feel free to reach out to me with additional questions. Have a good day! Best, Kristina Kuhaupt, Customer Experience Manager
Customer Comments
Over time, I’ve been bowled over with how tactful the Coop staff is when answering customer comments. Going back to the pandemic and even before, many member comments were shrill sometimes to the level of insulting. Through it all, the staff has responded graciously, never responding in kind, and has overlooked occasional nastiness. Thanks and kudos to you all.
Thank you so much for your kind words to our entire staff! Your positivity is greatly appreciated! Our staff truly dedicate their efforts to answer customer comments thoughtfully, while providing as many solutions and information as we can per inquiry. Thanks for noticing. In cooperation, Kristina Kuhaupt, Customer Experience Manager
