Market on the Hill kicks off with strong positive support from the community
 

[September 22, 2019]  

For the last several months there has been talk in Mount Pulaski of coming up with a way to bring a grocery store back into the town. The local IGA store closed two years ago and since that time the primary resource for food products in the town are the Dollar General Store and the items sold at the Casey’s convenience store. While those two locations do offer a variety of processed foods and convenience products, they both lack in some important products for good nutrition - fresh vegetables and meats.

On Thursday, September 12th, the interim board of directors for Market on the Hill hosted a social hour on the Mount Pulaski Courthouse Square to introduce the plan they have come up with to answer the need for fresh foods. In addition to offering fresh, the market plan includes using local sources. Foods grown mostly in Logan County will be offered along with a small selection of grocery items.

At the social hour, Tom Martin, who is the current president spoke about the plan and how the group plans to raise the funding for the small grocery store. The group has determined that they need to raise $120,000 in order to open the doors of the new market. They are working to raise that money through three avenues. The store will be a local cooperative, so the board is selling memberships and also two types of stock, common stock and preferred stock.

In addition to the Thursday social hour, the group also hosted an open house type event at the store location at 125 South Lafayette on both Friday and Saturday evenings during the Mount Pulaski Fall Festival.

On Saturday evening, an excited Martin reported that since the Thursday evening event, the group had collected $60,000 in investment pledges. Martin had on Thursday evening told guests that the board was asking for pledges and that those pledges would be legally binding documents guaranteeing the investor would follow through. However, the board would not be asking for all the money right away, it would be requested later and when needed.

Martin said Saturday that the board was thrilled with what they had collected, and also they had talked with potential investors who indicated verbally that they would be supporting the market plan, they just wanted a little more time to study the plan and decide on their level of investment.

With the fundraising effort immediately reaching the half-way point. Martin said the board is ready to move forward with the interior design and remodel project for the shop.

On Thursday evening Martin had told guests that the group was utilizing a cash award from the Mount Pulaski Economic Development Council in the amount of $5,000 to get the building rented and start the gutting work to open up the floor plan for the grocery store. He said that the board had taken a leap of faith in making these initial moves, confident that they would be able to raise the money needed to move forward.

Now that they have the $60,000, Martin said Saturday that the group will hire a professional to assist them in creating the interior layout for the store. He showed a mock-up of what they hope to have, but said that the professional may have a better floor plan that will assist the store in making the most of its limited amount of space.

The current floor plan calls for a deli at the back of the store and a fresh meat counter. There will be a very large area designated for fresh foods and a small area for miscellaneous grocery items. In the front of the building will be a coffee shop area.

Thursday evening Martin talked about the local sourcing for fresh foods and said the group already has three providers. Among them will be PrairiErth Farms from rural Atlanta. Kyle and Kathryn Reed are working on a Hilltop community garden project, which will also be a supplier. Martin said Reed had recently put up hoop houses on his property so he could grow his own bedding plants and other items in the colder months.

Liz Sasse of Sasse Apiary spoke about a food cooperative she is working on that will also offer sources for fresh foods.

Martin said that shoppers should expect that in the grocery section there will be limited selections. The goal is not to create a supermarket but to create a store where shoppers can find the fresh foods they need for a healthy lifestyle. He said to expect that instead of having half-a-dozen name brands or varieties of one type of food, shoppers may find only one or two options in the grocery section.

As a cooperative, each investor regardless of the size of the investment will have one vote in the decision making process. Martin said that once membership is established the existing board of directors will go to the wayside and a new board will be elected by the membership. He noted that there are several on the current board that would like to continue to serve, but it will be up to the membership to decide.

The investment opportunities include a one-time only $100 membership, common stock at $500 per share or preferred stock at $1,000 per share.

In the common stock an investor may buy only one share if desired, but no more than ten shares. In the preferred stock an investor must buy a minimum of five shares but can purchase no more than ten shares. Each stock investor will automatically become a member of the cooperative.

The board is working with the Illinois Institute of Rural Affairs in forming the cooperative and according to Martin there are rules and laws concerning cooperatives that must be followed. The memberships and investments must be treated equally in a cooperative and there are rules to the maximum amount of stock each investor can own.

This part of the presentation did raise some interesting questions from the guests Thursday evening. Can a married couple have stock in each of their names? Martin said yes a husband can buy the maximum number of shares and a wife can also buy in her name. The couple then has two votes.

That brought up the question of survivorship. If one spouse passes, what happens to their stock? Martin said that his understanding was that the stock would then either be passed on to another member of the family (not the spouse) or it would have to be sold back to the cooperative.

Martin also worked to explain how the payout on the stocks would work. He said that it is projected that within the first four to eight years the cooperative would buy back the preferred stocks with a six percent premium. He said the buyout would include issuing common stock to the investor and therefore the investor would maintain their one vote in the cooperative and remain a member.

When the market becomes profitable, the cooperative will then implement a dividend program that will pay out undistributed profits to the membership.

Martin also warned the group that this was a risk venture. If the market fails, then investors will not be able to recover the money they have put into it. He said he wanted to be very clear about that, while he and the board are confident, there is always going to be opportunity for failure. Success is going to come from the community patronage to the store. While the group believes that the market is offering what is needed and necessary for the community, the community itself will determine its success.

Martin also emphasized that while this is a hometown store, the board is looking to draw shoppers from other areas in the county because of the local sourcing and fresh products they are going to be selling.

Martin also reviewed the Mission, Vision, and Values of the cooperative.

The Mission Statement:

Market on the Hill strives to be a community partner, not only supporting local producers and farmers, but providing access to food and promoting initiatives for the good of the community.

The Vision Statement:

Market on the Hill believes that quality, fresh and convenient foods, combined with personal relationships are essential to a vibrant, healthy, sustainable community.

The Core values:

Rooted in the Community
Healthy convenience
Transparency
Sense of belonging
Cooperation
Know your farmer, know your food

Martin said that transparency would be very important on the board and at the store. He wants everyone to feel comfortable that they know what is going on and how their investment is being handled.

He also noted that the sense of community and sense of belonging will be key to the success of the shop. Martin said it is important in a small community especially to know who you are dealing with. He said it is good to walk into the local shops and see the owners there, know their names, their family, and their values. It is good to be able to look at the local business folks as friends and neighbors because that is what they are. The food store will have that same sense of familiarity.

Martin was asked about the employment opportunities at the store. He said as it was shaping up right now, the store would have up to two full time employees and possibly two to three part time staff.

Martin also said that Market on the Hill is not the first store of this type. He said that there is a small cooperative market in Winchester in Scott County that is doing this, and in fact that store has more or less been the model for the Market on the Hill. (see Great Scott Community Market and Illinois Stories Winchester Food Coop Home Library WSEC TV PBS Springfield)

The Market on the Hill will be open to the public. Shoppers do not have to be members to buy from the market. Martin said that membership would include some amenities, such as perhaps a monthly newsletter and special coupons or discounts for members only, but anyone and everyone will be welcome to shop there.

Martin added that there are still details to be worked out and there will undoubtedly be more questions arise as the process continues. He said that the hours of the store are not yet determined, but the goal is to provide store hours that will fit into the needs of the shoppers.

Martin also noted that the value of the store is more than just that to the shoppers. Having a local food source is important to seeing the town grow and maintain itself. He said that while yes, there are supermarket style stores within driving range of Mount Pulaski, there are those who need to shop in town and those who will want to shop in town. For people moving into the community, the lack of a grocery store is a detriment.

He also noted that the location of the store was very intentional. The board could have found another location on the outskirts of town, but they wanted the market to be a part of the downtown dynamic. The grocery on the square will be a catalyst for shoppers to drop in on the other shops and eateries on the square. And likewise, the convenience of having the food source close to the town’s other shops will help increase foot traffic for the market as well.

On Saturday, Martin said the $60,000 opens the door for the board to move forward, but there is a great deal of work to do before opening day. The board is anticipating an opening in 2020 but no specific timeline has been established yet.

[Nila Smith]