GOIN' BIG. The highly-anticipated opening of the Menomonie Market Co-op's new downtown Eau Claire store has finally been given a date, announced by the organization on Monday, Aug. 14. (Contributed photos)

Menomonie Market Food Co-op’s newest – and largest – location at the corner of North Barstow and Galloway streets in downtown Eau Claire finally has an expected opening date: Wednesday, Oct. 11.

After more than a year of work on the major expansion project, construction on the 14,000-square-foot grocery store is coming to a close this September.

“It’s very exciting to be at a transition point in our construction timeline,” said Crystal Halvorson, the co-op’s general manager. “It seems rare in this day and age to finish a project on time and on budget, but that’s where we find ourselves thanks to excellent design and construction work!”

“It seems rare in this day and age to finish a project on time and on budget, but that's where we find ourselves thanks to excellent design and construction work!”

CRYSTAL HALVORSON

MMFC GENERAL MANAGER

Of course, moving from the current Eau Claire store – located downtown at the former Just Local Foods, 1117 S. Farwell St. – to the new Barstow building signals a plethora of changes are on the horizon besides an obvious size upgrade.

Moving from a 1,500-square-foot space to a 14,000-square-foot store will allow several hundred more customers to be served each day, which also necessitates the need for additional employees. The co-op will move up from its roughly 55 staff members to 90 with job openings available at all levels of employment in all departments, including customer service, deli and bakery, grocery and wellness, meat and produce, and facility maintenance. 

The store’s opening will also welcome more “firsts” for MMFC too, including an event space created on the second floor of the new store. It will be able to accommodate up to 100 people, hold a cafeteria-style food service area where the catering team will be able to offer items such as coffee and pastries to scratch-made meals, and will feature a 16-foot garage door that connects to the indoor space, with a walk-out rooftop. Reservations for the space are expected to open in spring 2024 for events like rehearsal dinners, small banquets, baby showers, and more.

Inside the event space on floor two.

The rooftop space in progress.

MMFC anticipates higher local sales once opening the Barstow store too, aiming to build stronger relationships with local suppliers within its first two years open. With that, they are also expecting more competitive pricing.

Supporting local growers and producers – MMFC recognizing “local” as any product grown or produced within the Midwest – has always been a priority for the MMFC since its incorporation in 1974.

“Growth is not as simple as ordering extra from these farmers because all parts of the local food system are affected by an increase in production,” explained Becca Schoenborn, the co-op’s outreach and education doordinator. “More animals will need to be raised, more feed will need to be grown and purchased, more land will be needed to house the animals, already-packed processing facilities will need to increase production, and more storage will be needed to keep product safe after processing. All of that is possible, but it can’t happen in the short time it takes to build a new store.”

Overall, there will be more of just about everything – more space to fill with more products and amenities, more items to peruse and purchase, more parking spaces (50 total in the lot), more employees, and more opportunities.

Galloway Street facing side.

Keep up with the Menomonie Market Food Co-op on its website and on Facebook. See MMFC's official opening-date announcement online and learn more about career opportunities.