PORT TOWNSEND — A 3,000-square-foot expansion at The Food Co-op has widened grocery aisles and provided more working space and product storage.
The co-op is in the final stages of a two-year, $3.5 million project and will host a grand reopening celebration at 3 p.m. Aug. 16 at 414 Kearney St. in Port Townsend. Those who attend and use alternative transportation by walking, riding or carpooling will be entered into a drawing for a $100 gift card.
The co-op used a combination of its own funds and a $1.95 million loan from Kitsap Bank to fund the project, marketing manager Andrea Stafford said.
While there are a few finishing touches left — a monument sign at the front of the property and a decorative sign in the shape of a beet above the front entrance, once city permits are complete — the expansion already has had an impact on both employees and members, Stafford said.
The new spaces include 1,500 square feet in the retail area and the same in back rooms, including a larger meat department.
The back rooms opened last December, and the entrance opened May 4, the co-op’s 47th birthday, Stafford said.
The produce department drove the need for the renovation, she said.
Employees didn’t have enough space inside so they were forced to shuffle produce outside to a refrigerated shed at the beginning of each workday, and then they would replenish the supply in the store when needed and return the rest of it to an inside refrigerated space each night.
While the back-and-forth solution didn’t lead to a loss of product, it wasn’t very effective. The loss of productivity added up to a full-time position throughout the course of a single week, Stafford said.
“They needed more space to do their work,” she said. “This helps with inventory and their ability to be more efficient.”
Produce now has a walk-in refrigerator inside the building, and extra shelves and carts line a corridor filled with bulk items.
The meat department, once located “in a closet,” Stafford joked, now has its own space with sinks and counters for packaging.
The co-op also added an employee lunch room and a bathroom.
Employees and members filled out surveys prior to the project to identify areas of improvement. As a result, aisles are now wide enough for two carts to travel in opposite directions, Stafford said.
Another big addition is a 23-foot-long salad/hot bar. And herbs and spices are now combined with the rest of the bulk items instead of the wellness area, she said.
Overall, the co-op is launching a rebranding campaign at the same time of its grand reopening. A cedar trellis that had been outside the former main entrance has been repurposed by Kevin Reiswig, a local woodworker, and turned into aisle signs and other interior designs.
The entryway includes painted murals on the walls that define “local” as being from a five-county area — Jefferson, Clallam, Kitsap, Island and Mason — with farms and other vendors supplying most of the products.
“We also kept our community space where people hang all their fliers,” Stafford said. “That’s where people can go to know what’s happening.”
Because of its upgrade that included more energy-efficient refrigerators and lights, the co-op donated several used items — a walk-in refrigerator, a cooler, grocery shelving and more — to a few of its vendors.
Yet a few items remain.
“This used to be a bowling alley, so when we found the little bowling mural, that had to stay,” Stafford said.
The dining room is now up front, separated by some of the repurposed trellis and windows that faced the former north entrance.
Greens and blues that represent the co-op’s general philosophy are throughout.
“It’s good food, and you can find it where the land meets the sea,” Stafford said.
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Jefferson County Managing Editor Brian McLean can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 6, or at bmclean@peninsuladailynews.com.
