LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Lexington grocery cooperative store is facing financial trouble and says it needs support from its local owners to keep the doors open. Good Foods Co-op has been in the city since 1972 but says its been strapped for cash the past two years.

What You Need To Know

  • Good Foods Co-op has been serving Lexington since 1972 

  • The store allows shoppers to be an 'owner' in the store 

  • Most of the products are organic, locally produced/grown goods 

  • Good Foods Co-op is seeking a loan through its owners to stay open

Steve Kay, president of the co-op board, said a co-op is a grocery store owned by the customers who shop there.

“We have over 10,000 owners. They are the ones that benefit. We specialize in organic, local foods and support for local farmers,” Kay said.

Kay was recently named president of the Co-op board. He said the Co-op is looking to raise at least $200,000 from its owners through a loan program. Kay cited increased competition, unionization efforts of employees (lawyer fees) and maintenance costs have left the store needing cash.

“We are a small operation and we do rely on the support we get from our members. That’s what really makes the co-op special,” Kay said.

Kay said the co-op supports over 250 Kentucky farmers from all corners of Commonwealth through its array of products for sale.

“Anything that we can find that a local farmer is producing, we want to support that and we know that it’s good the local economy (because) that money stays in our community,” Kay said.

It’s not the first time the co-op has been on the brink of closure. Past renovations and expansions of the store left the store needing money before. Kay said back then, owners stepped up to keep the store open.

Charles Thompson and his wife, Milli Fazey, are two of the more than 10,000 owners in the co-op. Owners get a 10% discount. The couple lives within five minutes of the store and shop there regularly.

“The other privilege of ownership is the opportunity to save this place through the loan program,” Thompson said.

Thompson and Fazey enjoy the wide variety of local produce, cheeses and other products they said can only found at Good Foods Co-op. For them, the co-op is more than a grocery store.

“It’s not just an ordinary grocery store, it’s a community really,” Thompson said.

Kay said Good Foods Co-op is also seeking a loan from National Co-op Grocers, an organization with the goal of growing the success of grocery store cooperatives.

The co-op has been located off Southland Drive since 1999.

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