Welcome to Willy West!

We moved into this building in 2010 with 16,000 Owners and 10,000 square feet of retail space. After an expansion in 2018, we added an additional 5,000 square feet of retail and backstock space.

Let's begin our tour!

Click on the Youtube link for an audio tour or read through the captions to learn more about the store.

Let's get started! If you want to know more about our grocery co-op, there’s no better place to look than Customer Service. Here we have staff that can answer questions for you, help sign you up for co-op ownership, and an information section for you to browse.

Just around the left side of the Customer Service desk, you'll find our Owner Resources Area. Here you can learn about our Board of Directors, write to us with your customer comment or product request, and pick up brochures that might be helpful to you and your shopping experience.

From the Owner Resources Area, just turn around and you'll find yourself in the Produce department. One of the first things you may notice is the big sign on the green wall. We use this to indicate the percentages of local and organic produce on our shelves each week. As you can see, the majority of the produce sold annually at Willy Street Co-op is organic.

Last fiscal year, the Willy West Produce department made $4.6 million in sales, or 21% of total store sales.

Take a look under the banana display and you'll notice our discount bins where ripe, ready, and blemished produce is sold at a bargain.

If a whole cabbage is too much for you or you only need one stalk of celery, it's important to know that most of our produce that’s sold by the pound can be split or cut in half. Feel free to purchase just one banana or one bunch of grapes. If you only need half of a head of cabbage or cauliflower, ask a Produce staff member to cut one for you.

Take note of the shelf tags in Produce. We color code the tags to make it easier for customers to shop for what they are looking for. Purple tagged products are local, green represents organic, and orange represents conventional produce.

We define local as within 150 miles of the State Capitol building or anywhere in Wisconsin.

Our three levels of local include:

100% local—these products are completely and truly local.
Essentially local means at least 50% of the ingredients are grown or raised in Wisconsin or within 150 miles of the Capitol building in Madison.
Locally prepared means there may be ingredients grown elsewhere, but this food was processed or assembled by a company in Wisconsin or within 150 miles of the Capitol building.

Let's move on down Aisle 1 to our Bulk Aisle—arguably the most iconic area of a grocery co-op. You can find beans, grains, seeds, nuts, pastas, snacks, syrups, and oils in this aisle.

Most products in the bulk aisle are lower-priced than pre-packaged food, and you can purchase as much as you want or as little as you need. The label on each product includes the price per pound and the PLU or price look-up code that you should write on each bulk item you purchase.

Paper and plastic bags are available for dry goods, and round plastic containers are available for liquids. These containers cost 20¢ if you fill them with dry goods.

Reused jars should be cleaned and sanitized before refilling them. The empty container should be weighed and recorded so you won’t be charged for it.

There are also funnels available to help pour bulk items into small containers without spilling.

Let’s take a stroll over to Aisles 4 & 5, and you'll find yourself in Wellness.

Wellness is part of the General Merchandise department, and last fiscal year, this department made $2.1 million in sales or 10% of total store sales.

Our Willy Street Co-op-branded supplements are provided by Vitamer, a company out of California, a state which has very informative labeling laws. Using our label as a generic allows us to pass the cost savings to our customers.

You'll find more General Merchandise throughout the store, and we'll point out more as we go through the tour.

We like to remind our customers to shop on Wellness Wednesday when our Owners receive 10% off Health & Wellness products on the first Wednesday of every month.

Head toward the back of the store, and you will find our full-service meat department, meaning that meat can be processed and sliced on site. We can also prepare cuts of meat to any portion by customer request.

We partner with local and regional family farmers to find the highest quality, most ethical, and environmentally sustainable meat we can find. If you’re curious about animal welfare practices, check out the ‘Know Your Farmer’ page on our website. There you’ll find information from our farmers about animal treatment, living conditions, and antibiotic use.

Last fiscal year, the Willy West Meat department made $1.8 million in sales or 8% of total store sales.

From the Meat department, head over to our Deli where you’ll find a great place to pick up lunch or dinner. We have gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, grain-free, and meat options both in the service case and at the hot bar.

We have more local and organic ingredients in our Deli selections than anywhere else in the city. The dishes that you see in the Deli are made by staff at our off-site production kitchen and by on-site Deli staff.

Owners who are interested may request our deli recipes too!

Last fiscal year, the Willy West Deli department, including the hot and salad bars, grab and go prepared foods, bakery, and juice bar and coffee made $2.3 million in sales or 10% of total store sales.

Looking for a fresh salad instead? Check out Sally the Salad Robot! Sally can assemble your own personally customized salad. Try it out and watch the magic happen!

From the Deli, head toward Beer & Wine to find the Cheese department. About 80% of our cheese comes from Wisconsin and almost all the cheese we sell is free of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH). Deli staff are available to sample anything you would like to try—just ask!

Just past the cheese and bread, you'll find more items from the General Merchandise department. Take a stroll towards the front of the store to see some of the sundries and housewares we have to offer.

Next, head past the registers and take a left towards the restrooms, and you'll notice the Community Posting Board where there is space for community members and groups to post flyers and posters to advertise upcoming events, items for sale or trade, or offer services. Our staff monitors the postings and reserves the right to remove any posting for any reason.

Just beyond the restrooms, take a peek inside our Community Room. This space serves many purposes—you can regularly find a bustling kitchen where kids and adults alike learn from our professional chef instructors. This commercial kitchen is also available for rent.

On the way back toward the front of the store, head into the Commons. Take a break, have a seat, and enjoy the food you’ve purchased or read one of our informational brochures, sales flyers, or our monthly newsletter. We also have free wifi for you, no password needed!

Before you leave the store, you'll notice a donation shelf on the outside wall of the Commons where customers may leave non-perishable food and personal care items for the Middleton Outreach Ministry and Lussier Community Center's food pantries.

Thanks for stopping by—we hope you enjoyed your visit!

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