![Seward Community Co-op to open neighborhood cafe Seward Community Co-op to open neighborhood cafe](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt09e5e63517a16184/blt5da1a6e1328afe3d/64ff21cb374928c00519ce76/Painting-Logo.png?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
The Creamery will be open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner--and all offerings will be local, fresh and seasonal. During the day, the service counter (pictured) will serve up “simple and pure” comfort food, bakery and deli items, from scones, muffins and cookies to smoked sausages and pickled products made on site. At night, the dinner menu will change “every couple of weeks,” Snelson estimates, and push the envelope to take advantage of what’s growing locally. “At night, we’ll even have the flexibility to use some of the smaller farmers in our area that can’t get into our grocery store because they can’t produce enough,” he added. “The level of craft going into the production of food at night and the skill set I’ve hired will be able to adjust to any type of ingredient that pops up.”
“Seward has grown into a diverse neighborhood. We have a large East African population along with a lot of longtime residents who have been around since the co-op’s start in the '70s,” Snelson said. And the creamery knows its audience—look no further than the kombucha on tap (and, yes, there will also be beer). “It’s a nod to the clientele who buy a ton of bottled and tap kombucha in our grocery store,” he added. “We have 13,000 owners, so as we break new ground, we want to show that we’re loyal to those roots.”
The building was completely gutted to make room for the restaurant, and an elevator was added along with an addition (shown), featuring a copper facade main entrance. “It was at one point a Harley Davidson shop, then it was a religious book publisher,” said Snelson. “It had a lot of interesting tenants since the creamery left. We took it back down to the beams to create our offices upstairs and the restaurant downstairs.”
The Seward team is putting the finishing touches on Co-op Creamery, which will open its doorsin late July. All current co-op owners will be owners of the creamery, as well, with all of their benefits applicable at the restaurant. “Seward Community Co-op was growing, and they knew they wanted to open a second store, but it’s also a part of the values of the co-op to expand into other areas,” said Snelson. “We’re not the first co-op to open a restaurant, but the demand is there in our neighborhood and we want to reach those people.”
Seward’s owners wanted to pay homage to the building’s original occupants and designed the interior to reflect this rich history. “The design of the cafe was to call out and be respectful of the history of the building since they were also a co-op,” Snelson said. From the utilitarian lighting to the marble bar (pictured) and quarry tile floors (burnt orange, just like the original), it was designed “to look a little like the creamery production in the back spilled out into the cafe,” Snelson said.
The namesake and location of the new Co-op Creamery has a history dating back to 1920, when local milk groups joined together to open a very successful cooperative creamery in Minneapolis. “This location was chosen because, first, it’s right in our current neighborhood, only three blocks away from our store,” explained Chad Snelson, who’s managing the opening and operations of the creamery. “But the historical connection we have to this building that was also a co-op seemed like a perfect fit. We even moved our administrative offices to the second floor.”
For over 40 years, Seward Community Co-op has faithfully served Minneapolis from its home in the Franklin Avenue neighborhood. And though its values will always stay true to its beginnings as a local and seasonal grocer, 2015 holds major expansions in store. In October, the Seward team will open the doors to a second location on the corner of 38th Street and 3rd Avenue at the former site of the Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. And late next month, they’ll open the Co-op Creamery, a neighborhood cafe and central production facility.
For over 40 years, Seward Community Co-op has faithfully served Minneapolis from its home in the Franklin Avenue neighborhood. And though its values will always stay true to its beginnings as a local and seasonal grocer, 2015 holds major expansions in store. In October, the Seward team will open the doors to a second location on the corner of 38th Street and 3rd Avenue at the former site of the Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. And late next month, they’ll open the Co-op Creamery, a neighborhood cafe and central production facility.
With a nod to history, the co-op moves into the future.
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