The South Philly Food Co-op has spent several years organizing and recruiting member-owners with the goal of opening a grocery store in ('natch) South Philadelphia. More recently, the leaders of this organization have been actively searching for a location for the co-op, working to find a relatively inexpensive space that is large enough, convenient to member-owners, and has good access to public transportation. This process has taken a couple of years, but the Co-op has at last signed a lease on a space that will house the grocery store the membership has dreamt about for so long. The store will be located at 2031 S. Juniper St., a building we probably should have covered before.

In the past

The building today

Developers bought this building in 2014, paying $300K for the 4,500 sqft property. As you can see, they've replaced a two story warehouse with a three story mixed-use building and that building has 3,400 sqft of retail space on the first floor and 8 apartments upstairs. While the block itself isn't much to speak of, its location half a block off of Broad Street and less than a block from Passyunk Avenue will make it very attractive for people coming from many parts of South Philly (and frankly other parts of town too as it's close to the Broad Street Line).

Looking up the 2000 block of S. Juniper Street

Signing a lease represents the latest step in a long list of steps that will end with the Co-op opening its doors, hopefully some time next year. This graphic, from the Co-op website, shows the progress thus far and what's still to come. It's worth noting that the membership number is surely higher today than it was a year ago. 

Co-op timeline

For those interested in joining the Co-op with its future location now revealed, click here. You'll be required to volunteer eight hours per year for the Co-op, but you'll get discounts at the store and other places in South Philly, there will possibly be patronage refunds in the future, and you'll get to brag to your friends about being part of something special that's on the horizon.