From the General Manager
50th Anniversary + Renovation Updates
The Merc Co+op is celebrating 50 years in grocery this fall and, and we hope you join us for the festivities coming up, which include our Board of Directors serving cake this Saturday in Lawrence and Sunday in KCK, local and Fair-Trade samples, and an open house event at the Watkins Museum of History. While looking back at the evolution of our co-op through the years, we also look ahead at the current changes underway. As we gear up for the holiday season, we’re excited to share updates on the final phases of our renovation project. In upcoming weeks at our Lawrence store, look in our new coolers for:
More frozen foods like pizzas, entrees additional ice cream varieties and other frozen desserts!
Wider variety and more space for fresh produce.
Quick and wholesome meal solutions and an updated sandwich menu in the deli.
Deli Program Updates
First, as promised in my update this summer, we’re working on new menu items and expansion of our successful grab and go meal solutions. Check out our new olive and mediterranean bar on the salad bar, which includes options like antipasto salad, marinated olives and tomatoes, okra pickles, peppadews and more! Get as much or a little as you need of the perfect charcuterie board and salad accompaniments.
The deli is focusing in on rotating, seasonal options throughout the department.
Two new signature made-to-order sandwiches, and a new seasonal sandwich!
Expanded grab & go selection including new seasonal salads, family-sized green salads, pizzas and entrees
Expanded specialty cheese selections, including small cheese trays perfect for sharing!
Our Sushi vendor has expanded their options with new items as well, and on Sushi Wednesday, get select sushi for $5.99 all day!
Refrigeration and Freezer Updates
We are installing additional, energy-efficient fridge and freezer units in grocery, deli and meat. These new fixtures provide space for increased selection in the categories we see and hear shoppers want more of: produce, frozen foods, dairy, bakery, and specialty cheese.
To accommodate the new units and shelving, we will reconfigure some of our existing displays. The store will remain open regular hours throughout this project. Here’s our anticipated timeline:
October 13: Preparing for new refrigeration and freezer units.
Our center store grocery aisles will be expanding a few feet in length (more products coming!). First, four foot sections of shelving will be updated one at a time, and some products will be moving to new homes (ex: canned fruit in aisle 5 will join the other bakery canned fruit in aisle 1; boxed tea will join bulk tea in aisle 1).
Shoppers will notice a slight offset from our existing shelves as those are replaced. Shelves will shift about 2 feet south, so that shoppers can navigate the store comfortably. Those shifts will happen in the early morning, and likely won’t be noticeable except in the bulk aisle. The packaging station for bulk will be incorporated into the shelf by bulk teas.
October 21: Shifting vitamins and supplements
The gap between aisles 3 and 4 will be connected, and all wellness items will move to the south side of aisle 4, in anticipation of the new fridges and freezers that will occupy the north side of that aisle. These adjustments help us stay focused on categories that are meeting our shoppers needs – based on sales data trends and customer feedback. We’ll provide directional signage to help shoppers navigate the new layout. *See below for more.
October 23: New display cases arrive
The removal of existing shelving and fixtures in both grocery and the deli will be simultaneous once the units arrive. It will take up to a week for the necessary work to be completed and to allow the units to stabilize. Our skilled team is preparing the additional products based on both national and local trends. We are excited to stock the new cases quickly and bring you more delicious options!
More to come:
There will be more adjustments to our display configuration after the winter holidays, but our goal is to impact your shopping experience as little as possible. These improvements reflect our co-op's commitment to meeting the evolving needs of our community while maintaining our values of sustainability and support for local economies.
Thank you for your patience as we work to improve your shopping experience and bring you even more good, local food. While so much has changed in the 50 years of our co-op's history, a few things remain constant and strong: our commitment to local, our community and cooperative ownership.
* More about Lawrence Store Shopper Trends
Shoppers have a lot of choices in Lawrence for supplements. With the arrival of Natural Grocers in 2011 and Sprouts in 2015, as well the advent of online shopping, we’ve seen consistent decline in our vitamins and supplements category. By contrast with vitamins and supplements, shoppers are buying increasingly more frozen goods.
Vitamins and supplements will be consolidated to single rows on deeper shelves, which allows us to retain as much selection as possible. The majority of the adjustments to the vitamins and supplements category have been complete for some time as we prepared for this reset, though there will be some changes. Remember owners are welcome to special order products with our grocery staff as long as they are available through our distributors, in the instance that a favorite product is discontinued. Many of these products are sold in small cases and sometimes by the single unit, so you don't have to buy 12 or 24 at once!