co-op drop
Austin co-op grocery checking out of iconic spot after more than 40 years
Wheatsville's best-known location will close to make room for a light rail, but that's a couple of years away.
An Austin-based grocery store may have to close its location near UT's campus, after serving customers for more than 40 years.
Wheatsville Co-op said they’ve been facing many challenges at their Guadalupe location, and they would not be re-signing their lease which ends on December 31, 2026.
Bill Bickford, Wheatsville Co-op’s general manager, says he’s always felt a connection to the store.
“I started as a part-time cashier in 1999. I've held a number of roles between that to the one I hold today, and it's been a great ride,” Bickford said.
But now, Bickford says the light rail construction project coming in a few years will make connecting with customers difficult. He says the store is co-owned by 29,000 Austinites who keep it open and are committed to serving the community.
Customers like Courtney Kurtz who says the co-op is her main grocery store. She says she admires the store’s mission and the focus on plant-based foods, but she says her favorite part of the store is the people.
“The staff here is amazing,” Kutz said. “Every single time, it cheers me up to shop here.”
Longtime customer and co-owner Tony Cantu agrees.
“When I moved ... That was one of the first things I did was become a member because I really like the store,” Cantu said. “When you’re a member, they make you feel like family.”
But Bickford says Project Connect won't be compatible with customers trying to get to the property for both shoppers and suppliers. The Austin Transit Partnership is working on Project Connect to design and expand the city's light rail system. The first phase of it shows that it will run through Guadalupe, right in front of the store.
“Due to the blocking of the center lane and Guadalupe, southbound ... For customers will be impeded,” Bickford said. “Because the majority of our shoppers live north of the store, that will be a significant sales impediment for us.”
Bickford says it'll interrupt deliveries too. Suppliers currently have to back up across Guadalupe to get to the store to drop off supplies, which won't be possible after the light rail construction. He also says that early drawings of the light rail plan show the crosswalk outside the store would be removed. According to Bickford, the next nearest crosswalk would be a few blocks away.
“If you look at any grocery store, you'll notice that ease of access to get in and out is an important factor in their ability to serve their communities ... If we were at an intersection ... Proposed station, that might be a different story. But being mid-block, there's not a lot of solutions that we think are going to work for access to the store,” Bickford said.
Bickford says business has already declined at the store over the years. He says in 2013, sales at the Guadalupe location were $18,611,109. Last year they made $9,132,304, which is more than half their peak revenue at the site lost in a 10-year span.
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