Co-op grocery option discusses by CDA

By Dave Fidlin

Correspondent

Could a co-op fill the grocery store gap in Whitewater? The proposal is one of several possibilities an economic panel is reviewing.

Four members of a grocery store ad-hoc committee attended a workshop recently and presented some of their findings at a Community Development Authority meeting March 24. Throughout the lengthy discussion, the topic of a co-op model frequently came up as one of the most plausible, realistic possibilities of a full-fledged grocer in the community.

The extensive review of options comes in the immediate aftermath of the closure of Whitewater’s one full-service grocer, Sentry, which was shuttered by local businessman Terry Daniels in late 2015.

Council member Stephanie Goettl, who serves on the CDA, was among the participants who recently attended the workshop. If the city were to adopt a co-op model — a type of business where members hold an ownership stake in the company — Goettl said she believed a series of careful, methodical steps would first have to be taken.

“You don’t open a co-op grocery store that is going to fail,” Goettl said. “You do adequate research.”

At the recent workshop, Goettl and other city-represented attendees met with officials in other communities — some with populations a fraction of the size of Whitewater’s. On the flip side, they also learned about co-op grocers that dot the state’s largest cities, including Milwaukee and Madison.

While a number of logistics would have to be fleshed out, Goettl said members of the coop would pay an annual fee — $100 to $200 was discussed at the recent CDA meeting — and members would, at times, be privy to special pricing on merchandise.

A tiered pricing model was discussed as another possibility. If implemented, it would have different rates for students, seniors and families.

The co-op grocery store business model differs from the members-only model at such mega-retailers as Sam’s Club and Costco. Non-members also would have the option of shopping at the store.

Within Whitewater, the ongoing exploration of bringing a grocer into the community has come after a concerted, grassroots effort. That momentum, Goettl said, is a positive sign a co-op model has a fighting chance of working in the city’s business climate.

“The fact we have all these (grassroots) groups interested is a good thing,” Goettl said. “It’s changed my thoughts on what some of the next steps should be.”

CDA Chair Jeff Knight said the grocery store void within the community points to a bigger picture — one of people who are willing to drive a distance to purchase goods and services because of a perceived value.

“There are people who have been leaving this town to buy things, and we don’t understand why,” Knight said.

Knight and other CDA members agreed some form of study, which could include focus groups, needs to be conducted in an attempt at capturing the overall pulse of the community.

But from his vantage point, Knight said he believes Whitewater could have another grocery store in the near future. The Sentry store, he said, catered more so toward University of Wisconsin-Whitewater students, and not as much as the general community.

“I’m not convinced a grocery store in Whitewater can’t survive in Whitewater, just because Sentry couldn’t survive,” Knight said.

Decades ago, Whitewater had at one time hosted three grocers, and with a fraction of its current population. But several CDA members pointed out the build-up of grocers in such communities as Fort Atkinson and Janesville was not as prevalent.