Renaissance co-op hires new manager, looks to make improvements
No employees were at the store, which had closed for the day.
Despite many streets littered with debris, Sakellaridis managed to get to the store to see what he could move from the refrigerators to the freezer.
"I've never been through a tornado," said Sakellaridis, who came to
But his efforts to save the refrigerated stock were in vain. The store didn't have power restored for four days. The co-op filed an insurance claim for a net loss of
The loss added to the store's struggles just a year and half into its 10-year lease.
The city spent a decade trying to lure a grocer to that area, which had been without one since 1998, before the community came up with the idea of a co-op.
Officials saw Renaissance Community Co-op, or RCC, as salvation for one of
The
In fall 2016, RCC opened.
Sales climbed steadily the first two months after opening, figures released by the co-op's board show. Since then, revenue has stalled.
Sakellaridis knew he was walking into some challenges but he was ready to embrace them.
"I like challenges," he said. "I packed my family of four in a moving truck and drove across the country because I wanted to see this store succeed."
The tornado only added to those challenges.
"Sales haven't returned to pre-tornado levels because there are a lot people who have not returned to the neighborhood," said Roodline Volcy, president of the co-op's board of directors.
And many neighborhood residents still don't know the store exists.
"Now that we are here, it's getting the community aware of it," Sakellaridis said. "People here have been trained for 18 years to shop elsewhere."
On
"People are coming in for different reasons. We are trying to find out what those reasons are," Volcy said. "We hired a new general manager. We have a new marketing and outreach coordinator who is holding events in the store and getting more people in the store."
There is a suggestion box for customers and RCC hired a consulting firm that specializes in helping co-ops meet their goals. Volcy said support from
"The store does serve a purpose in that community," Volcy said. "There's a lot of folks who want it to see it succeed."
"It's important," Terry said. "If others would join, it'd be a lot better."
Some good also came out of the tornado. The shopping center became a hub for a shell-shocked community in the days after the disaster.
"After the tornado, we really got an opportunity to rise to the community and donate food that otherwise would've been thrown away to local churches so they could feed people," said Volcy.
Sakellaridis said people who hadn't realized it before started to recognize the store was there.
Even the loss of food from the power outage worked out for the store.
"We lost products that were not fast sellers," he said. "Having those slots open we can bring in new products that hopefully will be better tuned to the community."
Sakellaridis wants to strike a balance between low-priced products and specialty items.
He said the pricing of many items is competitive to Compare Save, a discount super market a few miles away at Summit and Bessemer avenues. Both RCC and Compare are members of Galaxy, a food vendor that stocks more affordable generic labels.
"I like the buy one, get one free sales," said
Terry shops at RCC at least once a week, sometimes more if his niece and nephews are visiting.
"They love to come," Terry said. "I like the bargains."
Other shoppers like the convenience.
"It's close to the neighborhood and I'm in and out in five or 10 minutes,"
Improvements are coming.
Sakellaridis plans to expand the co-op's deli by 200 square feet to include fryers and a rotisserie.
Community events, like grocery store bingo, are planned to help promote the store.
The co-op's board recently held an election.
"The board is transitioning from a startup board to a board that can govern now that we have a full-time manager," Volcy said.
Sakellaridis sees the store as an asset to the rest of the city as well.
"We have a mission to make sure we do a good job serving low-income people. We want to be well represented in serving the
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