Congrats to the new Seward Co-op

Seward Co-op Grocery and Deli opened on the morning of January 8th in a new location: 2823 East Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The new store is the result of more than three years of planning and effort on the part of the co-op board, staff, and members.

Daughter Number Three was on hand when the new doors opened; she shot this camera phone photo of the excited crowd. She has collected information about the project in a post to her site, where there is also a link to a flickr stream of photos. This one, of Seward general manager Sean Doyle and former board president Dan Nordley (Chief Park Ranger at Triangle Park Creative) comes from that stream.

Past GMs P.J. Hoffman, Stuart Reid, and Gail Graham were on hand to help celebrate; all of them continue to do critical work in the world of food co-ops. Dave Gutknecht was there too; he's the editor of Cooperative Grocer.

I also found a report about the store, in advance of its opening, at a blogsite called The Deets, by Ed Kohler. That's where I got this work-in-progress outside pic. I like the modern look of the exterior: "We are Green and Proud, have you noticed!?"

It's another great achievement in the world of food co-ops, not least in that hotbed of crunchy organic food, Minnesota. Congrats to the community of Seward Co-op!