Clintonville Community Market (Co-op) — News & Updates

[OneBagTravel]

Maybe I missed it but is anything planned for the building yet or is it way too soon to tell?

[Tom Over]

Kilgore Trout wrote:

I like the idea of some sort of integrated coffee house. There doesn’t seem to be a good one in the Indianola area (north of High). While Yeah Me Too has excellent coffee, I wouldn’t describe it as a coffee house in the same spirit as Cup of Joe on High Street or Staufs in Grandview.

I live on Crestview (north of Indianola) and have walked to The Community Market several times over the years and will miss it. I love the idea of the co-op, but have always had an uneasy feeling about it’s survival. I confess I was not a member, and used it more as a bodega than as a dedicated market.

It’s a tricky location. While great for foot traffic, if something at that spot draws too much vehicular traffic, it could be problematic.

I hope for future success!

So, I can assume you appreciate the work of Kurt Vonnegut ?

Well, anyway, the term ‘coffee shop’ was in my previous post because it seems a venue that would be a community node for people working on ecologically responsible food, while having (1) relatively low labor costs, and (2) being compatible, within the same brick-and-mortar space, with selling (a ) long-shelf-life ‘chemcial-free’ and ‘organic’ ( and easily liquidated if need-be) bulk items (oatmeal, rye flakes, spelt flour, spelt berries, rye berries, honey, and so on) from local growers, such as Stutzman Farms or Raven Rocks; and (b) fair trade and otherwise ecologically responsible coffee, tea, herbs and spices.

A juice-bar aspect and simple baked goods might also make sense, as part of having something for people, newbies and old-and-crunchies, to buy and enjoy as we sit and socialize, both informally for the intrinsic enjoyment of other human beings, and less informally for organizing ecologically responsible projects.

This isn’t limited to food, of course, and it isn’t limited to retail either. It can and should also involve social arrangements around production co ops, not just consumer co ops.

People who embrace such values already know what our guiding principles are, though no one knows the legal structure or the brick-and-mortar structure in which they will manifest.

We also already know that creative solutions thrive on wide, diverse collaboration. That, in turn, requires an ethic of cooperation, and, if you will, a philosophy of kindness and reconciliation, irrespective of our religious beliefs.

Some might call it ‘spiritual love’ toward people we don’t particularly like, and for some folk, such as myself, striving for ecological responsibility is the most promising form of spirituality, due to its compatibility with science and it’s emphasis on organized kindness, or ‘universal love’ which is applicable to all, though dependent on none of the many faith traditions. At the risk of sacrificing accuracy for the sake of being a bit provocative : loving kindness is my religion, and Earth my god :)

At any rate, in terms of coordination and cooperation, doesn’t it make sense for the nearly dead co op to utilize the existing roster of members, vendors, donators, and community members in general, so as to cooperatively figure out how to do better, in terms of economically viable and ecologically responsible relationships among producers, retailers, and consumers of food, fiber, and herbal medicine? It’d probably also make sense to include policy makers.

[Tom Over]

OneBagTravel wrote:

Maybe I missed it but is anything planned for the building yet or is it way too soon to tell?

Not that I know of. I’m just scratching the surface. Contact some of the board members, maybe. Thanks for asking.

EDIT : please get involved, if you’re not already, and according to what suits you best. You’ll probably be glad you did.

[News]

Clintonville Community Market Closing Its Doors For Good
By SAM HENDREN • 1 HOUR AGO

For almost two decades, the Clintonville Community Market sold groceries that were hard to find elsewhere. But now the market is closing; driven out of business by a changing retail climate.

READ MORE: http://radio.wosu.org/post/clintonville-community-market-closing-its-doors-good#stream/0

[Posole]

Sigh, I guess I should have bought a membership. They had been honoring my lifetime Co-Op card from another city. Sad to see them go but clearly places like Lucky’s and Raisin Rack were finally filling the niche that the co-ops did for so many years. My first co-op from Kent, Oh is gone, Akron is gone, Cleveland is gone, and now Columbus.

[Author]

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