CO-OP FOCUSES
ON COMMUNITY
BY HEATHER DOUGLAS
A
t least one member of the Astoria
Co+op was not completely sold on the
new store idea. Four-year-old Ruby—
general manager Matt Stanley’s daughter—
had happy memories of shopping with her
mother Holly at the old store.
That all changed on Dec. 11, when the
store opened with a ribbon cutting cere-
mony and Ruby exclaimed “Dad, I love the
new Co-op!”
Many community members echoed
Ruby’s enthusiasm. As crowds flooded into
the store, Stanley remarked that shoppers
seemed to be in awe on opening day at all
the new offerings.
“I saw a gentleman brought to tears when
he saw the inside of the new store; he was
just so proud of his co-op,” Stanley said.
The new co-op first broke ground in Jan-
uary 2019. The new location is four times
the size of its previous location. Inside the
co-op is a taqueria, hot food bar, salad bar,
deli and dining area.
Broken Banjo Photography
Astoria Co+op general manager Matt Stanley with daughter Ruby Stanley and wife Holly Owen.
Matt Stanley
Four-year-old Ruby Stanley shops at the
Astoria Co+op.
A long and winding road
While the co-op’s recent expansion is
the result of five years of work, the co-op’s
story goes farther back. The co-op was
founded in 1974 in a living room.
At the time, co-op founders used the
small space as a buying club for organic
foods. Everyone involved was a volunteer.
Josie Peper was the co-op’s first
manager.
“Back then, it was the beginning of the
whole food movement,” Peper said.
Peper aided the store’s transition to
their first brick and mortar location at 1114
Marine Drive, which is now the Columbian
Cafe. The new store is the co-op’s fifth loca-
tion, including the living room.
Peper was introduced ceremoniously
at the co-op’s grand opening on Jan. 18
by Andrea Larson Perez, president of the
co-op’s board of directors.
“I shop here still,” Peper said. “I
wouldn’t want to live in a town without a
co-op.”
Community-fueled momentum
The space limitations of the co-op’s
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If You Go
Astoria Co+op
2350 Marine Drive, Astoria
Broken Banjo Photography
Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily
Inside the new Astoria Co+op.
most recent location at 1355 Exchange St.
became apparent in 2014. At the time, store
management decided to create a five-year
expansion plan to handle increasing sales
and products.
The plan coincided with the end of the
co-op’s lease in 2019. During the five-year
planning period, co-op employees held
focus groups, meet and greets and shopper
surveys.
The co-op’s new location was decided on
community feedback, according to Angela
Sidlo, vice president of the co-op’s board of
directors.
In the end, the resounding answer from
the community regarding expansion was
“go for it,” Stanley said.
Perez was involved in the five-year
expansion process.
“We worked on our strategic plan and
involved the community through every step,
asking for their input and what they would
like to see in an expanded store,” Perez said.
“We confirmed through our owners and the
community that a larger store was definitely
warranted.”
Most of the money used to buy the new
co-op came from community members.
Over $2 million was raised by donations,
Perez said.
“If you’ve lived in Astoria for any length
of time you know there’s been a lot of fund-
raising going on,” Perez said. “This is
unheard of and totally demonstrates a belief
from the community that it’s going to be
successful.”
Growing pains
While the co-op’s end goal of finding
a forever home is complete, the transition
isn’t without challenges.
“We prided ourselves on having a very
positive workplace culture in our previ-
ous location,” Stanley said. “Anytime you
implement a large change, there is a risk
that your culture will suffer.”
To remedy this, the store is creating new
systems and tightening up old ones. The
store has added 30 new staff to its crew,
including a human resources manager.
“Six weeks in, I’d like to think we’ve
integrated and handled the change very
well; our new staff additions are great and
we are having fun learning together,” Stan-
ley said.