The Market Report

Co-op Food Stores Opened:  2010 Owner: cooperatively owned Previous Tenants: Grand Union (ca. 1960s-2001) > P&C Foods (2001-2009) Cooperative:  National Co-op Grocers Location: 209 Maple St, White River Junction, VT Photographed:  July 6, 2023 It's time to tour another co-op supermarket, but this one has a twist. While many New England co-ops are recently-built facilities , this one has a long history as a grocer. In fact, Grand Union built this 17,000 square foot store back in the 1960s or so, and it appears to have lasted right up until the chain went under. In 2001, it became a P&C Foods, part of the Penn Traffic company, which closed this store in 2009. (Most locations went to Tops; for some reason, this one didn't, possibly because Tops has a limited presence in Vermont.) The building owner then looked for a new tenant, and approached the team running a co-op across the border in Hanover, NH. That co-op reopened this supermarket, fixing it up while rema...

Putney Food Co-op Opened:  1992 in current location; 1941 previously Owner: cooperatively owned Previous Tenants: none Cooperative: National Co-op Grocers Location: 8 Carol Brown Way, Putney, VT Photographed: August 10, 2021 Putney is home to a food co-op like Brattleboro , but the store here in Putney is smaller at only around 7000 square feet. The food co-op opened up here in 1992, moving from its previous location on Kimball Hill where it had been in business since 1941 (it was formed to help small-town residents get food and supplies during World War II). An interesting note on the history from the co-op's website : Carol Brown was the founder of the co-op, and now, the street it's on is named after her. Despite the store's small size , it still has a kitchen, coffee shop, and small cafe. Putney doesn't have a large supermarket, so this store and the other small grocer in town fill the gap. Come back tomorrow to see that one!

Brattleboro Food Co-op Opened: 2012 in current location; 1975 previously Owner: cooperatively owned Previous Tenants: none Cooperative: National Co-op Grocers Location: 2 Main St, Brattleboro, VT Photographed:  August 10, 2021 The Market Report has arrived in Vermont for the first time, and what better place to do it than the Brattleboro Food Co-op! After all, it's close to familiar territory: just across the river from New Hampshire and eight miles north of the MA border. Plus, Vermont is the land of food co-ops, so this is a fitting introduction. This food co-op dates back to 1975, but like many of these New England co-ops, recently moved into a modern supermarket building. This one was actually a new-build facility right in downtown Brattleboro, and the supermarket now spans around 21,000 square feet. It's one of four supermarkets in Brattleboro, with the others (a Market 32, an ALDI, and a Hannaford) located outside of the downtown area. This one has a very helpful col...

Monadnock Food Co-op Opened: 2013 Owner: cooperatively owned Previous Tenants: none Cooperative: National Co-op Grocers Location: 34 Cypress St, Keene, NH Photographed: August 13, 2021 This is not our first food co-op in New Hampshire, but like the Concord co-op, it's a beautiful store with an exciting mix of local and natural products. This store was built in 2013, and it's a new-build -- you can tell that the building, inside and out, still feels pretty new. The cooperative food scene is alive and well in New England, and this 20,000 square foot supermarket is as good an indication as any. You enter to produce on the left side, with dairy in the rest of the first aisle. Meat and seafood counters are on the back wall, along with packaged meats, while frozen foods are in the middle of the store. A large deli, prepared foods, and bakery area is on the right side of the store, along with a substantial cafe seating area. Since so many co-ops are set up this way, it feels in...