Seward Co-op Grand Opening!

We are pumped for the grand opening of the new Seward Co-op store at 2823 E. Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis this week on Thursday, January 8th (today)!! They've moved from their old location to the location of the former Riverside Market.

When it comes to scoring food for cooking at home, we shop for our groceries primarily at the Seward Co-op. It is the closest co-op to the crib, and their quality of food has been satisfactory.

Our weekly grocery purchases at Seward include: Cedar Summit Farm bottled milk, organic eggs from Larry Schultz of Owatonna, pork products from Pastures A' Plenty, all kinds of local and regional cheese, local buffalo and lamb meat, bulk Peace Coffee, and fresh free-range chicken and beef from Kadejan, Beaver Creek Farm, and Thousand Hills Cattle Company. We divide our local (mostly organic) produce purchases between Seward Co-op and the Cornercopia organic farm at the University of Minnesota, St Paul campus.

Highlights/interesting talk we've heard about the new Seward Co-op expansion:

- expanded departments across the board means greater variety across the board, (especially meat!)

- the Deli also will be serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the week, as well as a brunch buffet on the weekends

- Coastal Seafoods is assisting in the training of their Meat Department staff

- Chris Dick, Seward Co-op’s new Meat and Seafood Manager, will be heading the expanded meat department (all fresh meats - except certain fish - will be locally sourced, Grass-fed and organic meats will be available, as will fish caught using sustainable methods)

- a self-service/grab-n-go case will be nearly double the size of the current one

- a full-service, fresh meat case will be available (the same goes for fresh seafood)

- Bill Baskins, formerly of the Red Stag, will be making fresh sausage behind the meat counter

- building systems were designed to improve efficiency 17 percent above code requirements

- site will capture and retain at least 90 percent of stormwater for its ample green space

- the new building is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified

- money for some form(s) of public art is included in the architectural plan to maximize the opportunities for including public art

- daylight harvesting equipment

- this is the first official project under the "Great Streets" program banner in Minneapolis

- a rotisserie chicken roaster

- the new space will offer community cooking classes, nutritional education, and education on cooperative structures

- more than 20 percent of the site’s construction materials are made of recycled materials

- a new Cheese Department, currently featuring 175 varieties of cheese (100 of which are local!) will see a 40-percent size percent increase in the new store

- green space and greenery are maximized within the constraints of the design

- high efficiency refrigeration and low VOC paint throughout

- while they may need to scrap the current public art project on site, Seward Co-op is planning for mosaics to be incorporated into the exterior plan

For all kinds of information on the expansion, check out their latest newsletter

Also check out The Deets blog for photos of the interior.

The ribbon-cutting is scheduled for 10am Thursday (today), and is open to the public.

PS - This is cross-posted from my other blog, You Are Where You Eat. Still figuring out the best way to share the content from both blogs. Me: "Should I go back to one blog for all content, or keep the two separate and occasionally engage in the dreaded cross post?"

[where: Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Seward C-op, 55406]