On March 15, Erie Food Co-op in Erie, Pa., opened its second store. The co-op’s new store, located in downtown Erie, is a total of 6,500 square feet, with 3,000 square feet of retail space. The project came about as a partnership between the co-op and the Erie Downtown Development Corporation, working to revitalize the city’s downtown area.
The new store will share a market space called the Flagship City Public Market with two other local food businesses — a meat retailer and a distillery with a tasting room and bottle shop. The co-op’s store will focus on a mix of grab and go prepared foods, along with limited grocery and produce items. A couple of unique features include two self-checkout units and “Sally the Salad Robot” for customized, fresh salad options.
Erie Food Co-op’s General Manager LeAnna Nieratko said they were initially reluctant to take on the project when they were approached by the Erie Downtown Development Corporation back in 2018. “At the time, we weren’t in a position to take on any risk, and we also didn’t have a real vision for a store in that market. The area has the lowest median income in the United States, and at the time, we felt like we wouldn’t be able to meet their needs.”
Nieratko said that the pandemic changed everything. There were continuous community conversations around how public transportation system changes had impacted food accessibility in downtown Erie, and the revitalization organization continued to approach the co-op after efforts to partner with other grocery stores failed.
“We held some public listening sessions in March of 2020 and found that residents were not only welcoming to the idea of us opening a store, but they were enthusiastic,” Nieratko said. “They asked that we consider a product change with a focus on pricing, but, ultimately, they wanted easier access to food and the living-wage jobs. There still was the reality that we are a low-cash business and weren’t ready for an expansion without significant financial support, which we were able to get from grants and the development organization.”
The cost of the new store was less than $800,000 with financing from member loans (7%), a local grant (45%) and a local bank loan (40%), with the rest from the co-op’s reserves. First year projections are for $1.7 million in sales.
Nieratko credits NCG for helping Erie Food Co-op throughout the process. “I have had a ton of support from NCG with direct, consistent mentoring from [NCG’s Co-op Resource Manager] Brittany Baird, as well as significant planning support from [NCG’s Produce Retail Programming Manager] Josh Crone, [NCG’s Center Store Retail Specialist] Tom Snyder and [NCG’s Prepared Foods Retail Specialist] Mark Papendieck. I also have had tremendous support and guidance from [NCG’s Retail Support Director – Eastern Corridor] Terry Bowling,” Nieratko said. She added that leadership from other co-ops also assisted with the opening. “I truly do not think I could have gotten the doors open without AJ Hess (Mariposa Food Co-op), Nicole Villano (Deep Roots Market) and Lexa Juhre (Fiddleheads Co-op),” she said.
The most important work ahead for the co-op, Nieratko says, is ensuring that they remain adaptive to the needs of their communities while also maintaining a strong brand image. “Thankfully, we have a lot of community partners to help us find solutions to these issues as we uncover them,” Nieratko said.
