20 WINTER 2013 GARBANZO GAZETTE back 40 special items in your produce department by Claire Musech, Produce Buyer/ Receiver & WFC Owner You may have already noticed the for flowers, and you receive and 15% have a gorgeous assortment of Poin- bright, new addition to your Co-op—it’s discount if you are a WFC Owner! Place settias, Norfolk Pines, Frosty Ferns, fresh flower bouquets and plants! them at the Customer Service Counter, Rosemary Cones, Golden Cypress and I have had the pleasure of working with or with anyone in the Produce Depart- Silver Bush set to arrive on December Koehler and Dramm Wholesale Florist ment or you can just call it in. 13th. Guarantee your first choice by put- in Minneapolis to bring you beautiful ting in a special order with the Produce We are also working on sourcing local and affordable cut flower bouquets, Department today as quantities are and regional fall mums from the Amish arrangements and plants. We have limited. and an assortment of local hanging been able to provide a unique selection baskets in the spring. This is a small Add a distinguishing touch to your of house plants ranging from traditional but exciting step towards our store goal Holiday gathering by arriving with ones like Ivy and Pathos to the unusual of having 20 percent of all products a Co-op made fruit and vegetable tray varieties like Venus fly trap and sold be LOCAL by the year 2020! or fruit and gift basket. We are happy Cypress. Whether you are choosing to take special requests within 48 hours a gift to brighten someone’s day Everyone loves flowers for the Holidays. of pick up. or perking up your own home, we are Winter Holidays are just around the sure to have something that will satisfy. corner so make our beautiful center- I hope your Holiday season is filled pieces the talk of your table. We also with joy and made brighter by a special Do you have something special in carry Fair Trade roses for Valentine’s touch from your Whole Foods Co-op. mind or see something that you like Specialty gift baskets and fresh fruit & veggie trays Day and Mother’s Day, lilies for Easter GG but would rather it was in a different are available in the Produce department. Place a and arrangements for Thanksgiving. We special order for yours today for that special occasion! size or color? We now do special orders a carrot by any other name… new looks at your old co-op by Shannon Szymkowiak, Promotions & Education Manager & WFC Owner Our current logo We have used many logos to tell our story over the years. Welcome this fresh look as we open another chapter. 4oth Anniversary logo Whole Foods Co-op was established Now, especially for the 5,000+ people as a buying club in 1970 by 20 people who have become Owners over the past who wanted clean, unadulterated food. eight years, this is the only co-op they The club originally disbursed the oats, have ever really known. flour and other bulk goods from the Over the past eight years, our walls and basement of the Chester Creek House. floors have become a bit shopworn and This group of cooperators had no idea it’s time to freshen things up. We are what they had started. Could they have looking at opening a second location imagined 7,500+ Owners and a large, and that means we have a new story welcoming storefront? to tell. Over the next several months, Your Co-op shopping space has seen you will notice some face-lifting and many physical changes over the years. freshening of our store interior. We will There were small storefronts, then one also begin to use the new Whole Food a bit larger, and the beautiful store we Co-op logo. now call home. The new store mark was developed Each space was unique and told the from a store branding session held story (whether on purpose or by acci- earlier this year with our staff. It is dent) of who the co-op was at any bright, clear, and represents the fresh, given time through the products that healthy food you find at your co-op. were carried on the shelves, the color You will also be happy to know that it of paint on the walls, or the sign out was the clear winner in a poll with both front. And of course, our awesome, the Owners at the Annual Owner’s dedicated staff. Meeting and with our staff. It’s hard to believe that we have been in We will try to keep construction proj- the “new” store for eight years. When ects as unobtrusive as we possibly we moved here, the colorful interior, can to our shoppers and when we’re artwork and consistent use of our finished, we hope you love our new look then-updated logo blew people away. here and at future locations to come. At first, it seemed odd that our little As the French say, “Viva la carrotte!” You will continue to see the mark of the National co-op had grown into such a beauty. Co-op Grocers Association in addition to our fresh, We’ll see you in the aisles soon! GG new carrots. PRSRT STD annual recipe issue U.S. POSTAGE PAID DULUTH, MN PERMIT NO. 492 610 East 4th Street Duluth MN 55805 Address Service Requested G A Z E Z O T T E G A R B A N HOLIDAY HOURS AT YOUR CO-OP: Christmas Eve & New Year’s Eve: 7 AM – 4 PM | Christmas Day & New Year’s Day: CLOSED Carolyn D Sheets therapist . educator . owner lifestyle massage soulwork healthy eating 218.724.9737 1420 East First Street Duluth MN 55805 www.healingways.org DULUTH, MINNESOTA [email protected] WINTER 2013 02 WINTER 2013 GARBANZO GAZETTE management report patronage rebate, consumer surveys & owner forums by Sharon Murphy, General Manager & WFC Owner The DWW study recommended SEVEN intersections, all within Duluth city limits, two are EAST of our current branching out location, two are NORTH and three are WEST. Owners and guests at the 2013 Annual Owners Meeting voted “My Board has a BHAG = Big Hairy Audacious Goal.” overwhelmingly for a “WEST” location with “NORTH” as their second choice and “EAST”as their third choice. – Bob Burlton, CEO of the Energy Saving Cooperative, United Kingdom, GARBANZO speaking to General Managers and Board Presidents at the Spring 2013 Our next steps include working with a commercial realtor, Meeting of the National Cooperative Grocers Association developers and expansion consultants from the cooperative GAZETTE sector to assess specific locations at each of those seven As announced by President Chris Edwardson, the Board locations with respect to: approved a 2013 patronage rebate in the total amount of • Compliance with our location criteria (e.g., size, Published by: $762,695. Eighty percent (80%) of this patronage rebate will accessibility, parking, delivery access, to public Whole Foods Co-op be retained as equity and 20% ($152,540) will be distributed to Owners prior to December 31, 2013, in proportion to their transportation, visibility) 610 East 4th Street purchases during FY 2013. In comparison, last year’s cash • Time line for availability/zoning challenges Duluth, MN 55805 rebate was $64,627. • Estimated development costs phone | (218) 728-0884 In prior years, patronage rebate checks of less than $5 were Due to the confidential nature of real estate negotiations, fax | (218) 728-0490 not distributed, but those Owners received a coupon good for it will not be possible to keep you apprised of every decision along the way. Ten years ago in our search for the current www.wholefoods.coop a percentage off on their next purchase. This year all rebate checks will be distributed with an offer of $5 off when ten- location, we learned the cost of committing publicly to one dered at WFC toward a minimum $50 purchase by December area or one specific site. We had less negotiating power and endured frequent stall tactics by property owners. We will STORE HOURS: 31, 2013. Retained equity is invested in capital improvements such as building/s, land and equipment. provide information as feasible and will continue to offer 7 AM – 9 PM every day opportunities for your input in the planning and fundraising Tax laws allow co-ops to rebate profit from owner purchases process. And speaking of additional opportunities to Ownership Investment: back to owners OR pay the corporate tax (40%) on that profit. participate… $100 per voting membership Please cash your rebate check promptly. Rebate checks not Further ownership cashed become taxable income to WFC in the following year. Board and management are coordinating a series of Owner information is available at the Forums beginning in January 2014. These will be one to two Sharon Murphy, GM & WFC Owner Whole Foods- Co-op. SURVEYS SAY… hour sessions where we will bring you up to date on our time line, pick a specific topic for small group discussion At the 2013 Annual Owners and allow time for feedback from the group discussions The Garbanzo Gazette Meeting we shared some and for questions. Light refreshments will be provided. is published four times a year results, especially relating to Dates and times for the first three sessions are noted below. (March, June, September, a location for a second site, Times, days of the week and locations will vary for April-June December ) for the Owners and from the on-line Consumer 2014. patrons of Whole Foods Co-op.