History

Willy Street Co-op's origins date back to 1973, in the Williamson Street area and surrounding neighborhood.

At the time, the people living here didn’t have access to fresh foods close by.

• There was no grocery store, and so the neighborhood was underserved.

• At the same time, the food that was available was heavily processed and refined. People in the neighborhood were not convinced that they had adequate access to a nutritious food source.

So the people got together to start our co-op.

In 1974 we borrowed some space from Nature’s Bakery Cooperative on Williamson Street. We sold produce out of the basement with about 500 owners and six volunteer workers.

By 1975, with 1,300 owners, the co-op was ready for retail. So we moved down the street and added packaged groceries and bulk. Over time, the neighborhood’s needs began to change—the population was beginning to grow again and other businesses were starting up in the area. More people were becoming interested in what the co-op had to offer and were asking us to offer more products, and so we continued to adapt to meet our owners' tastes and needs.

Between 1977 and 1985, we continued to grow, moved down the street again, added health and wellness products, elected a board of directors, hired a general manager, and added deli and meat products. We also carried some conventional products and began to focus on more local suppliers.

Organic was important, but it was also important to provide owners with products they requested and to support local suppliers who may not find it cost-effective to certify organic.

In 1999, we purchased a building across the street and created a 9,500 square foot retail that we now call Willy East. We had 5,700 Owners at the time. By 2004, prepared foods had become so popular we were unable to manage all the prep in our deli alone, so we opened a production kitchen. This also allowed us to add bakery items to our line of products.

By 2010, we had about 16,000 owners, and only one location serving their needs. So it was time to add a store: Willy West. West is located about 8 miles away, in the neighboring suburb of Middleton. While most of the products we carry at East and West are similar, the selection varies based on the requests of the owners that shop at each location.

By 2014, East was ready for some improvements, and we were able to add 500 square feet of retail, a hot bar, upgrades to bathrooms and the commons, and a nicer office and break space in the basement.

In 2016, after owners voted in 2014 to add a third store, we opened Willy North, a store twice the size of East and 25% larger than West, located on the north side of Madison.

It’s about 3.5 miles from Willy East, and 10 miles from Willy West. Due to the size of this store and the input from the customers in that area, we sell offerings similar to East and West and also a lot of conventional foods there as well.