Louisville Community Grocery

Tag: business development

  • Let’s Start Selling as Louisville Community Grocery

    Let’s Start Selling as Louisville Community Grocery

    LCG owners agree that we want to begin engaging in the business of selling fresh, high quality food and other products in a cooperative manner that is responsive to community needs, and support the regional food economy (one of our core purposes). We want to start now, while we are still working on opening our brick and mortar store. A buying club project has risen to the top in recent owner meeting discussions as a desirable way to start achieving this objective.

    The Buying Club Survey

    Owner, Barry Z. created a 2-question survey and we’ve had 43 responses from owners who would like to participate in a buying club. Can you help us get to 70? We’re learning from the survey what your top 3 criteria are for participating, and what products you would be most interested in purchasing. This helps a great deal to plan a prototype for a buying club.

    The Buying Club Survey

    Develop Our Cooperative Business Model

    We’re at a catch-22 with the prospect of opening our brick and mortar store. If our Business and Site Development Committee finds the right place and the willing partners to get started, we will need to have a team ready to take on the work to make it happen. This is why we need to start now to develop our cooperative business model through practical sales so we’ll be ready.

    Our Purpose  

    • Combat food insecurity;
    • Operate a multi-stakeholder, Cooperative grocery store;
    • Engage in the business of selling fresh, high quality food and other products in a Cooperative manner that is responsive to community needs and supports the regional food economy;
    • Develop an attractive and successful business model for worker and community ownership in food retailing and local economic development;
    • Create jobs that are secure and educational and support the dignity of all workers of the Cooperative; and
    • Engage in education

    Coordinators Needed

    To move this project forward and start learning new insights into what will work on a larger scale, LCG needs one or two volunteer coordinators for the project. This would involve the following tasks and time commitment:

    • Set up and facilitate working group meetings once or twice per month in person or online, or both;
    • Commit to one year as project coordinator or co-coordinator;
    • Set a goal for a start date for a buyers club or other prototype for sales;
    • Coordinate the operation of the sales prototype for a period of 3 months and evaluate;
    • Delegate work to group members such as
      • Drafting a committee charter with the group, to be approved by the LCG board of directors;
      • Recording meeting notes and posting to the LCG Google drive;
      • Attending monthly LCG board meetings to report on the progress, ask and answer questions;
      • Liaising with the Business Development and Site Selection committee as insights become clear about what will work on a larger scale;

    If you would be willing to talk further with LCG board members about this volunteer coordinator position, please contact us at LouisvilleCommunityGrocery@gmail.com.

  • Why has it taken so long to open the Louisville Community Grocery?

    Why has it taken so long to open the Louisville Community Grocery?

    Our co-founders began meeting in the Portland neighborhood in the fall of
    2015 and founded LACE in 2017. Organizing meetings moved around
    neighborhoods as they wanted to connect with residents who had been
    affected by recently closed grocery stores (from 2016 to 2018, five stores
    closed within the Watterson/city core), then landed in Russell for a while. We
    incorporated the LCG in 2019 and kicked off a soft launch owners campaign. We organized into committees with LACE members to conduct the work of
    our co-op. COVID-19 affected our ability to host our monthly in-person
    owners’ meetings, and we didn’t return to that. Nevertheless, the work
    continued.

    Over the fall of 2021 and spring of 2022, we secured philanthropic funding
    for LACE and predevelopment activities, land from the Community
    Foundation of Louisville, and a $3.5M bond issuance from Louisville Metro
    Government. Co-founder of LACE and LCG, Cassia Herron, resigned as
    LACE’s board chair in the fall of 2021 and soon after, LACE hired executive
    staff to oversee its mission, and the two entities began having problems.

    LACE did not follow the plans Herron left to guide the efforts to develop the
    land, build the business, and engage residents and owners in the process, and began going at the work alone. By 2023 the relationship between our co- op’s leadership and LACE had completely fallen apart and officially ended in
    2024.


    In 2024, our newly elected board and a handful of owners worked to regain
    access to the co-op’s assets created with LACE that LACE retained control
    of when the partnership dissolved. We conducted an updated market study
    that maintained the property at Finzer was still the best property to pursue for
    our store (along with a Louisville Metro Housing Association property in
    Russell). In 2025, we learned that the Finzer site was acquired by the
    Smoketown Community Land Trust. When we approached them about
    building our grocery store there, they indicated they were not yet ready to
    make a decision about how to use the property.


    In 2025, LCG was awarded a grant for research regarding our future site. This
    research was completed and shared with the LCG ownership at the February
    2026 Owners Meeting. We are currently considering options for how to move
    forward.

  • Meeting Summary – Board Meeting Feb 20th, 2025

    Meeting Summary – Board Meeting Feb 20th, 2025

    Board Present:   Arte Chambers, Cassia Herron, DeNita Wright, Judy Schroeder

    Owners:  LaiEsha Allen, Gina Braxton, Emily Boone, Gwen Kelly, Michelle Lori, Luther Pearson, Dennisha Rivers

    Next Steps

    The meeting discussed the progress all committees are making as a result of the Owners Meeting on January 25th. Specifically, as Next Steps:

    • The meeting discussed the progress all committees are making as a result of the Owners Meeting on January 25th. Specifically, as Next Steps:
    • Tech Committee is expanding with Shavaun John & Julian who are in training to help administer the blog, wiki, and listserv. Arte will publish all committee charters and work plans on the wiki and website, as they develop. 
    • Robin Hawkins is working on documenting the Co-op’s history and past decisions.
    • The Finance Committee will have Finance Statements to review monthly.
    • Arte will circulate a question for discussion within all committees about the proper level of transparency and access to financial reporting. [With a full discussion, members agreed that the question was not about public access to LCG’s financial reporting, but about access for owners. Our meeting recognized both the importance of participation and access as owners of a co-op, and that some business opportunities get complicated or lost when our business transactions are public, in real time. We are looking specifically for a policy that gives owners confidence in our financial practices, without publishing our business transactions (financial reports) in public, such as links on our website & newsletters, rather than requests to the Treasurer or attendance at Board meetings.
    • Judy to research language for Conflict of Interest disclosures.
    • Site Selection Committee to meet on March 7th for a tour of two potential properties.
    • The Business Development Committee is updating our business model and will be meeting with representatives from National Co-op Grocers.
    • Board to include an agenda in future meeting invitations.

    Board Goals

    • Formalize internal processes
    • Create committee Charters and standard operating procedures
    • Agree on explicit goals & reporting expectations for each committee
    • Develop Conflict of Interest & Non-Disclosure protocols for all business functions
    • Establish a formal grievance process
    • Develop Code of Conduct for owners