By Melanie Shellito, Green Top Grocery
Green Top Grocery is getting ready to celebrate its 8th birthday on May 3, and we thought it might be fun to share the story of how this community-owned store came to be… because it’s a wild ride!
Unlike chain stores and franchises, Green Top Grocery (GTG) is a cooperatively-owned grocery store. That means that although there are hundreds of food co-ops owned by their communities across the U.S. there’s only one Green Top. So we had a roadmap for how to open a co-op grocery, but it was on us to do the work to make it a reality.
Our project started with a community meeting to see if there was enough interest. Over 100 people showed up (far surpassing our expectations) and confirmed they wanted a grocery store that prioritized our local farmers and producers, and kept money circulating in our local economy. So we set to work. We cobbled together enough funds to create some flyers, some signs, and some photos of existing co-ops, and we tapped our small band of volunteers to set up a table at every festival, event, living room, and parking lot that would have us. We did a LOT of explaining about how a cooperative works (democratically!) and how purchasing shares in a co-op works ($200, just once, and you’re an owner forever!) But it’s an unusual concept if you’ve only ever known chain stores, franchises, sole proprietorships, and non-profits. So we talked, and explained, and talked some more.
Our numbers grew. More owners, more volunteers, more equity to fund the project as people purchased shares based purely on faith that this big dream would become a reality someday. Our owners voted and seated a board. We won awards and grants that helped pay for legal work, site evaluations, and two part-time people to manage logistics and keep the whole thing moving forward. Meanwhile, our volunteer board learned more than they ever wanted about the grocery world, bank financing, business plans, cooperative law, and site selection.
One of the most powerful (and challenging) aspects of a cooperatively owned business is the funding. In Green Top Grocery’s case, we needed $3 million to build out, equip, staff, and stock our store. Self-funding would be required for nearly half. Therefore, we rallied our nearly 1000 owners and launched our Owner Loan Campaign. We can’t overstate the amount of work, looooong days, and hundreds of calls we made over the coming months. But in the end, we raised $1.3 million dollars in loans and donations — a national record at that time for a startup food co-op. This was evidence of the faith and perseverance of people in our community: if you want something badly enough, you pull together and get it done!
Green Top Grocery opened on May 5, 2017, almost exactly five years from the start of the journey. But far from being the end of the story, our little store has since weathered the ups and downs of a small business competing with industry behemoths. It’s not easy but we believe the co-op model has a lot to offer in the current environment, prioritizing people over profit. In recent months, co-ops across the country have seen notable upticks in sales and new owners, spurred by a new focus on spending money locally and with small businesses. It’s a great time to be a cooperatively owned grocery store!
We’re so honored to still be here on our eighth birthday, providing great food and a gathering space for our community. We’re ‘leveling up’ in 2025, as we launch a schedule of cooking classes, a catering menu, new local partnerships, and new promotions. Everyone is welcome to shop at Green Top Grocery (you don’t need to be an owner!) and we hope you’ll come celebrate what we’ve all built together on Saturday, May 3.
Green Top Grocery is located at 921 East Washington Street in Bloomington. If you are interested in becoming a member of this community-based, community-built cooperative, please stop in, give them a call at (309) 306-1523, or visit them online at www.greentopgrocery.com.