There's a dust-up at the Ypsilanti Food Co-op, we're told, in prep for what'll be a redo of its space in Depot Town.
Demolition started a couple of weeks ago. When complete by summer's end, the grocer will occupy the entire 5,000-square-foot ground floor of the Historic Mill Works Building, according to General Manager Corinne Sikorski.
The project, costing in the range of $250,000, entails a reconfiguration of the space and a 50% increase in retail square footage. Also on the plate: a seating area for the deli, and the River Street Bakery will get more workspace and a new direct sales counter. The dairy cooler will grow from seven to 10 doors and a five-door freezer is to be added. Expect a doubling of the frozen food selection and more bulk bins, Sikorski says.
"We're a full-line grocery store, and this is going to help us be a more complete full-line grocery store in a natural-foods way," she adds.
Although sales more than doubled over the last five years, Sikorski says, space constraints were crimping growth. The
Ypsilanti Food Co-op is open to the public and has about 750 active members; roughly half of the regular customers are members. It will be open during the renovation.
Sikorski cites the desire to be a community mainstay; the grocer has been in the circa-1840s building since 1984. "We really wanted to expand by just continuing that store here, rather than moving to a bigger store somewhere else."
Source: Corinne Sikorski, general manager, Ypsilanti Food Co-opWriter: Tanya Muzumdar
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