July/August 2016 LexTalk

News from the Lexington Cooperative Market

July/August 2016

LexTalk A local summer!

Photo: Erica Wagner, Moscow Food Co+Op

Inside: a new co-op!, local season, recipes, pairings, & more

Board Elections Join our Board!

Is it your year to run for the co-op’s Board of Directors? Do you know someone who’d be a great candidate?

Let us know! The Co-op depends on committed and engaged owners like you.

Serving on the Board is an exciting way to be hands on in helping to govern and grow your community owned business.

Learn more on our website (lexington. coop/ownership/board-of-directors), or grab a Board Application packet at the Customer Service Desk.

Applications are due August 16 Questions? Email board@lexington.coop

Thank you Owners!

Current Board of Directors: Allison Wilcox-Lanfear, President Marty Knauss,Vice President Matthew Caldiero, Treasurer Hope Hoetzer- Cook, Secretary Derek Bateman Bruce Haydon Elizabeth Robinson Emily Stewart Marissa Pace

Board Meeting Dates July 11 - August 1- Sept 12 Please email board@lexington.coop to attend.

welcome East Aurora Co-op Market

Welcome to the world, East Aurora Cooperative Market! We were so thrilled last month when the East Aurora Co-op Market opened its doors after 7 years of planning and fundraising. I grew up traipsing around the woods of East Aurora, swimming in the pools of Cazenovia Creek and camping out in the woods near the railroad tracks, so it was thrilling for me personally to have a co-op open in my home town.

helped set up their office systems. Our Demo Coordinator, Shelby Little, said to me “I’d like to go out there and do some demos.” Its inspiring to see how readily our staff see East Aurora as an extension of their work. It’s also inspiring to see so many Lexington customers shopping there whenever I go. Their sales have been almost 3 times projections, and our sales growth has not dipped at all.

More Co-op Economy!

Back here at Lexington, “what is happening with Hertel?” is on everyone’s mind. I’m sorry that we haven’t been communicating as Tim Bartlett, much as we needed to. I keep waiting General Manager for a big breakthrough where I can Photo: YEAH! Buffalo announce “problem solved!” and give a firm timeline. But the reality is that it’s a construction project, and delays and unknowns Western New York is home to two of the largest are the unfortunate norm. After we applied for cooperatives in the country in Upstate Farms building permit, National Grid informed the and Welch’s. Our region is home to 69 credit landlord that there is a key power line running unions, the country’s only co-op garden center, underneath the proposed addition. After some Urban Roots, an excellent worker owned bakery conversation, National Grid has agreed to in BreadHive and now, for the first time since move the power line. We are still waiting on a 1999, two food co-ops. In the last year, the owners timeline for when that will happen. of Lexington invested more than $2 million to open a store on Hertel, and the founding owners Our best estimate is that we will open the store of East Aurora have invested nearly $1 million in mid-2017. The good news is that the delay to open their own co-op. This means that one of gives us time to hone our systems and prepare the 10 largest capital campaigns in the country them for operating two stores. The work we are and THE largest startup capital campaign in the doing now should help us return the co-op to country happened right here in WNY. WNY profitability more quickly after opening. We loves co-ops! are also not seeing significant cost increases as a result of the delays. Consultants, designers and Our primary strategy in our BIG Direction is a contractors are on hold while we wait for the thriving co-op in every community that wants landlord to begin their portion of construction. one, Lexington or otherwise. East Aurora is one more step toward that goal, and our staff Thank you for all your support and has been working hard to support their success. encouragement as we wade through the We had two cashiers and two managers there on challenges of opening a store. Enjoy the opening day to make sure the registers flowed summer. The hot, dry weather should produce smoothly. Our Store Manager, Monique, has one of the best summers on record for local spent several days on site helping them get fruits. The strawberries have been phenomenal their Point of Sale system up and functioning. so far, and blueberries, raspberries and peaches We trained their baker and their cashiers, we are on their way. Yum! East Aurora has always been a selfsufficient village with a very strong sense of community. That’s why when Tops edged out the two other grocery stores, the people came together and said “we’ll create our own damn store.”

More Co-op Economy

East Aurora Co-op Market Visit our friends at 591 Main Street in East Aurora Open 7-9 p.m. every day! eastaurorafood.coop

“

One of the persistent myths about America is that rugged individualism built this country. Don’t you believe it. If you look at the critical moments in our history, starting with the Revolutionary War and the writing of our Constitution, it’s when we come together that we have been most successful. People working together built our schools and our religious institutions.

People working together built our industries, defended us in two world wars, and sent men to the moon. Cooperatives are part of this. They built our farms, brought power and light to our rural areas, and provided a place to deposit money in the 1930s when the banking system failed.

Rugged individualism didn’t build America— cooperation did. And it’s needed now more than ever.

”

HERTEL UPDATE Co-op Sandwiches!

BreadHive Cafe

-Paul Hazen, former director of the National Co-op Business Association Photo: Christa Glennie Seychew, Loupe

HERTEL UPDATE

you asked, we answered...

Q: When will the store be open?

A: Planning for construction is taking longer than we anticipated. While we were awaiting building permit, National Grid informed us that there is a power line that will need to be moved before we can begin construction. Our new projected opening date is mid-2017.

Q: Why Hertel Avenue?

A: We love Hertel because 10% of our owners already live in the North Buffalo- Kenmore area. We are excited to be a part of this thriving community

Construction 6-8 months We are HERE Summer 2016

Order equipment Hire Store Manager

Congratulations to our friends at BreadHive on the opening of their new cafe! Stop in for an incredible sandwich on fresh house-made breads.

402 Connecticut St. in Buffalo 8am-3pm, (closed Mondays)

Owner forums Set the product line

Q: What will be different from the Elmwood location?

A: Where do we begin...

•Indoor seating •More parking •Twice the size

•Full service deli •Service meat & seafood counters •Hot panini and pizza station

If there is something you want to see at your Hertel store, email expansion@lexington.coop

Stock the shelves!

2-4 weeks • Install equipment • Hire & train staff

OPEN for BUSINESS!

1. Dan Tower Farm Youngstown, NY Apples, Peaches, Plums

2. Draudt Farm Hamburg, NY Corn, cucumbers, lettuces, zucchini, cauliflower

3. Weiss Farm

Eden, NY Berries, corn, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes

4. Singer Farm Naturals

5. Porter Farm

Appleton,NY cherries, peaches, organic garlic

Elba, NY Organic cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, watermelon

Homegrown Heros from their farms to your kitchen

! ’ n i p p i s summer

Raspberry Mint Kombucha Mocktail

Tart Cherry Juice Sparkler Mix lime flavored sparkling water with 2 tbsp of Singer Farm Naturals Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate (Appleton, NY) per 6-8oz glass, garnish with mint!

Muddle 10 mint leaves and 15 raspberries in a pitcher. Add two 16oz bottles of GT’s Gingerade

Beer Float Add

two scoops of Quaker

Bonnet Strawberry Ice Cream (Buffalo, NY) to a glass

Kombucha and juice of half a

of Hamburg Brewing Company Small Town Saison for

lime. Too strong? Add sparkling

a refreshing twist on your favorite pint.

water to taste. Cheers!

Photo from DraftMag.com

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The Perfectly Local Burger Bun

Hold deliciousness between a bun from Luigi’s (Buffalo, NY)

Lettuce,Tomato, Onion

Garnish your burger with produce fresh from our local farms.

Burger

Grab grass fed patties from Stand Fast Farm (Forestville, NY) No Meat? Go Veggies Burgers (Tonawanda, NY)

Toppings

Sweet & Tangy! Nickel’s Pit BBQ Sauce (Watkins Glen, NY) Need a Little Kick? Spontaneous Combustion Mustard (Buffalo, NY) Add a Pickle! Barrel & Brine (Buffalo, NY)

Food & Fun: A Match Made at Lexington It’s summertime in WNY, nights and weekends are stocked full of great concerts, activities, and events for the whole family.

Wherever your summer plans lead, Lexington Co-op has just what you need to fight off hunger and stay hydrated…

Bike Ride

Raising the Bar Simple, fresh ingredients hearty enough to fuel your ride.

Road Trip

Lexi’s Buffalo Tofu Bites Don’t hit the road without these crispy, spicy bites in your cup holder!

Beachin’ It

Kayaking

Meat & Cheese Sticks Go-tos for a quick hunger quench.

Harmless Harvest Coconut Water You haven’t tasted summer until you’ve had a sip!

Book Club

Picnic Lexi’s Lemon Parmesan Tortellini 8 ounces Gondola cheese Tortellini 1/3 cup artichoke hearts 1/3 cup roasted red pepper, chopped 3 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp Parmesan 1tbsp parsley, chopped 2.5 tbsp lemon juice 1tsp garlic, minced 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add tortellini and cook for 3-5 minutes until done. Drain and rinse gently in cold water.

Mix tortellini, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, parmesan and chopped parsley in a bowl.

In a separate bowl whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Slowly add olive oil to emulsify. Pour over tortellini and mix well.

Victory Brewing Co. HopDevil Cheddar Spread Bold, creamy and beer infused - smear it on BreadHive sourdough baguette!

Fireworks Night at the Park

Lexi’s Cheese Flight Four great snacking cheeses ready to go. Don’t forget to BYOBlanket!

Camping

Lexi’s Gazpacho Chill it on ice until your ready for a fresh and light summer dinner in the wilderness!

Julie’s Sorbet Bars Smooth and refreshing with bursts of blackberry.

Ever hear clapping and cheering on Tuesday afternoons? That’s the Huddle, and all owners are invited to attend! Here is long-time owner Siri Narayan’s tale of the day she joined the huddle...

You’re Invited

Join the Huddle!

No football experience required Siri Narayan, Member Owner since 1971 During a chat with Kitchen Manager, Joe, he mentioned that business in prepared foods at the co-op was booming and cited a sales figure that blew me away. Later, I stopped to talk with the Manager on Duty, Tanya, who confirmed Joe’s facts as well as added “Yes, it’s true, but not only in prepared foods,” and continued to rattle off other mind-blowing figures. Here I was thinking I was being let in on a big co-op secret, hearing all of these sales numbers straight from management, but little did I know…

Tanya told me that if I thought the business side of the co-op was interesting I should attend the weekly Huddle. “Huddle?,” I replied, “we have a football team now?” Tanya smiled and explained that Huddle was an open meeting for all staff, owners, and shoppers, who were interested, that took place for exactly one hour each Tuesday. I was told there would be representatives from each department reporting on the week’s business, discussions, and snacks. Seemed like a good idea to me!

And so, on the following Tuesday at 1:15 pm (I didn’t want to be late to the 1:30 Huddle!) I walked through the sliding door and made my way upstairs to the offices.

I was greeted by at least twenty happy folks gathered together, setting up for a meeting.

Chairs were being set out, a large whiteboard was being dragged in, and I spied several plates of yummy snacks! Everybody was cheerful, friendly, and welcoming. I was pointed to an empty seat by Finance Manager, Jenny who smiled and passed me some chocolate dipped frozen bananas. I was immediately happy to be part of it all.

General Manager, Tim got things underway, mentioning upcoming events and holidays, as well as, how the co-op was going to celebrate them. Next, someone from each department spoke about the figures on the whiteboard. This included what the forecasts were for sales, what sales actually were, and any new products coming to their area of the store. Then the floor was opened to comments and suggestions, all of which were offered in the spirit of happy cooperation.

After some discussion it was time to address the Monkey Board. Monkeys are tasks that were assigned to staff members the previous week as “monkeys on their backs,” things that had to be taken care of right away. “Monkey Owners” told the group of how sales/service issues were resolved and then rewarded with a treat. New monkeys were doled out for the upcoming week.

The final minutes of the Huddle were spent on appreciations, where members of the staff took

time to call out and thank each other for work well done. Then, just like magic, the meeting ended…in exactly one hour. The room was returned back to offices and the staff returned to their posts.

I left feeling that we really are a COOPERATIVE endeavor in the finest sense of the word. So, If you want to have a good time, get involved with the co-op and eat some really great snacks, then get in the game - come to the Huddle!

P.S. Thanks Andy

op o C r u o Y the by

#s

Overheard at the Huddle

27

local produce farms

working to ensure that our produce is fresh, delicious, and LOCAL

56¢

of every dollar spent goes back to our local economy

417 $ 0 8

local products line our shelves, ready to fill your kitchens and stimulate our local economy one time investment to become an owner and its been that way for more than 3

Join Us!

decades

Now Hiring: Full-Time Cheese Coordinator The ideal candidate would be well versed in cheese, as well, as have a passion for hard work and people. For more information about this exciting opportunity, visit www.lexington.coop/about/employment

807 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY 14222 716.886.COOP

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID BUFFALO NY PERMIT #801

Open to Everyone 7 am - 11 pm daily

owner appreciation days Owners SAVE 10% on one shopping trip

july 28-30 w w w. l e x i n g t o n . c o o p

Special Tastings, Great Deals, & Friendly Faces!