All of us at the Co-op are committed to making sure that your store is as excellent as it possibly can be. To that end, we have long been planning to remodel our building at 818 Main Street, in order to make the space even more welcoming, effective, and pleasant. Back in late 2019 and early 2020, we had big plans for a community-wide capital campaign to finance a massive remodel, but the COVID-19 pandemic derailed that endeavor.
The Chico Natural Foods Co-op, however, is resilient. While adjusting to the new reality of operating in a global pandemic, we planned how we could still improve the physical infrastructure of the store In June of 2021, we fully replaced our floors. The floor remodel was a huge endeavor, but the end result was a more beautiful, safe, and clean Co-op. Now, a year later, we are ready to move onto the next step: remodeling the front of the store.
The fundamental layout of the Co-op has not changed significantly in decades. We’ve made some minor changes over the years, but haven’t given ourselves the opportunity to apply the full depth of our grocery retail experience to the layout of the store. We are now ready to make some changes that will allow us to better highlight the fresh items you love, streamline our checkout process, and create a more pleasant in-store experience for customers and staff.
The most noticeable change in our remodel is that we are moving the Produce department. The Produce department will now be on the south side of the store and will have more floor space to display the fresh, organic, and local items that the Co-op is known for. The main motivation for this remodel is so that we can elevate and expand on our already excellent Produce and Fresh departments, and this move is a key part of that change.
The Co-op’s checkout station will also be moving. Our Front-End clerks will no longer be in a “box” in the middle of the store—they will be moved to the north edge of the store. We will be saving space and streamlining the checkout process by moving all the checkout stations. The change will save space, open up the sales floor, and make the checkout process more efficient for everyone.
Changing the layout of some of our shelving necessarily creates a domino effect on the rest of the store’s products. Therefore, we will also be adjusting shelving and product locations throughout the store. Our goal is to make our product selection and layout more intuitive and easier to shop. We know it can be sometimes be annoying when your favorite products aren’t where they used to be, and we hope you’ll ask for assistance from Co-op staff. We feel confident that once you get used to the changes we’ve made, you’ll agree that the new store layout is a definite improvement.
We also acknowledge that the remodel work will generate some short-term inconveniences while it is ongoing. Some items will be out of stock, or will be kept in the back of the store while shelving is being moved. Again, we hope you’ll ask for help in finding the items you are looking for. We will also be closing early on July 6th to move the Produce case. The Co-op will close at 7pm on July 6th to ensure that this important (and large!) piece of equipment is moved safely. We will reopen at our regular time (7am) the very next day, July 7th. The Co-op may also be noisier and more crowded than usual as some limited construction work takes place while the store is open. We’d like to ask for your patience with Co-op staff and the construction contractors as we make these important improvements.
Everyone at the Co-op is very excited about the changes happening here! Chico deserves to have the absolute best possible Co-op, and the work being done in this remodel is helping to make that a reality. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask a Co-op employee or submit a question through our website. And take a look below at an outline of further remodel steps we are planning on accomplishing in the next year!
