Market analysis will help determine best fit for Whitewater
By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
Get ready for your close-up, Whitewater. The city is about to undergo a market analysis in an effort to gather the data needed to attract or establish a grocery store.
Whitewater is a city without a locally-owned grocery store since the Dec. 14 closing of Daniels Foods Sentry, 1260 W. Main St.
The Daniels Group, which also owns grocery stores in Janesville and Walworth, and has been in the business for 93 years, could not turn enough of a profit on already minuscule margins at its Whitewater Sentry. As a result, Whitewater is without a traditional grocery store.
The best remaining option for buying food in Whitewater is the main culprit in Daniels’ decision to close. The Whitewater Walmart sits adjacent to Sentry at 1362 West Main St. and expanded to become a Super Center with a grocery section about five years ago.
In the wake of Sentry’s closing citizens launched initiatives to address the lack of a traditional grocer within Whitewater. Many residents voiced concern at a Jan. 26 meeting of the Whitewater Community Development Authority.
The meeting took place in the City Council Chambers, 312 W. Whitewater St.
“My needs are simple,” Whitewater resident Lorrie Koppein said at the meeting. “Let’s just replace what we had.”
The impassioned meeting was one full of ideas. Marie Koch, Director of the Whitewater Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that the owner of the Piggly Wiggly in Milton is interested in working with Whitewater if a smaller building can be found.
The Milton Piggly Wiggly is owned by Jason Cowley. Cowley also owns a store in Edgerton.
The CDA meeting concluded with the formation of a sub-committee that will continue to examine the situation and work to a resolution.
Common Council Representative Stephanie Ann Goettl is the committee chair. Goettl represents District 5. Lacey Reichwald, Tom Harrigan and Brienne Diebolt-Brown will also serve on the committee.
Reichwald owns two local businesses – The SweetSpot Café and SweetSpot Bakehouse. The café is at 226 W Whitewater Street and the bakehouse is at 1185 W. Main St.
Reichwald is also the moderator of a Facebook page that is a clearing house for those who wish to bring a cooperative grocery store to Whitewater. “Whitewater Cooperative” is the Facebook page.
The market analysis, which Reichwald speculated will begin in the coming months, will provide a great deal of direction to the process of securing another grocery store. The analysis will look at existing data on Whitewater’s financial, physical and social demographics and help determine which type of grocery store is best for the city.
Reichwald feels a cooperative will work well in Whitewater. National Co+op Grocers is an Iowa City, Iowa-based advocacy group for cooperative grocery stories that counts 148 food co-ops operating more than 200 stores in 38 states as members.
According to NCG a cooperative is a member-owned and member-governed business that operates for the benefit of members according to principals agreed upon by members.
Willy Street Co-op in Madison and Riverwest Coop Grocery Store and Café in the Milwaukee neighborhood of Riverwest are two better-known cooperatives in the area.
“The ultimate goal is to find the model that will be best sustained by the community for the long-term,” Reichwald said. “My inclination, based on what I know about business in Whitewater, is the most sustainable option, the most likely option, is going to be from within the city.”
A firm timeline and expenses related to the market analysis are not yet known.
Brandon Scholz, President and CEO of the Wisconsin Grocers Association, told the Register late last year that a market analysis is an essential first step in determining what type of grocery store Whitewater can support.
Scholz said start-up costs for a grocer are considerable. A market study is essential to ensure the new endeavor is feasible and sustainable. Revenue and gross sales must be forecast as accurately as possible, so owners know how much must be sold on a weekly basis to be profitable.
