Victoria Penate | Staff Writer
The design process for the upcoming second BriarPatch Food Co-Op location is underway, BriarPatch marketing manager Rebecca Torpie said.
BriarPatch announced in a December release that it had signed a lease for the space, following a decision by the BriarPatch Board of Directors to “expand BriarPatch’s footprint beyond Nevada County.”
Torpie said the co-op’s internal design team is “super excited” as it reviews current preliminary design plans and finalizes elements which will be included including, as with the Grass Valley location, a deli “basically everything we have here in Grass Valley.”
She said that, for example, based on the current success of the Grass Valley location’s curbside service, the design for the Auburn location will keep practicality for curbside in mind.
FROM A PRESS RELEASE:
“BriarPatch Food Co-op has signed a lease for its second store location at the former Kmart site at 2505 Bell Road in Auburn, California. The 44 year-old food cooperative has served as a community hub of Grass Valley and has moved locations five times, growing from a small storefront to its current 20,000 square foot lodestone for organic and local food. Its annual sales now top $35M and 10,000 people are member-owners, supporting the co-op by contributing a refundable lifetime $200 equity share and through their patronage of the store. The current location at Sierra College Drive in Grass Valley has reached its maximum level of sales capacity for its size, and with a large percentage of owners and sales coming from the Auburn trade area and even further south along the 49 corridor, the opportunity was prime.