As Tidal Creek Food Co-op continues to scout what it terms “greater downtown” Wilmington for possible new locations, it is seeking input from its customers, owners and others who would like to see a grocery store in their downtown neighborhood.
To hear from interested individuals, Tidal Creek will host an open community forum at 5 p.m. on May 2, to discuss the concept. The meeting will take place at the store, 5329 Oleander Drive, near the former Cinema 6 property.
“Tidal Creek Co-op welcomes all opinions and ideas about a possible move and wants to foster a cooperative conversation where all interested parties can learn and share ideas openly to help the Co-op thrive,” the store’s news release stated.
Since the arrival of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's further west on Oleander Drive, Tidal Creek has seen a decline in food purchases -- although its café is "going gangbusters," company spokeswoman Katie Wright said Tuesday.
In a recent blog post, Wright elaborated: “The problem is that the area is now oversaturated with grocers. The Co-op has lost considerable sales to this condition. Further evidence of this oversaturation came to light in our market study, which indicated that most of the chain grocers operating in this area are unhappy with their store’s performance ... unfortunately ... we do not currently have enough loyalty and sales volume to sustain healthy operations in the Oleander location.”
The answer, Wright wrote in the blog, is to “consider new paths and new opportunities to help the Co-op thrive.”
A new path may lead into an area considered by many to be a food desert: downtown Wilmington, an area where fresh-food grocery options are limited.
Tidal Creek general manager Jason Blake-Beach said Tuesday that the store is eyeing sites in an area encircling the central business district, but not in the downtown core.
“The problem with [the central downtown] is just that those properties are too small. A grocery store needs a larger footprint and more parking. Plus property values are higher, so we want to get a little bit away,” he said.
Saturday’s forum is scheduled at the store just before Tidal Co-op’s monthly Howl at the Moon Party and Outdoor Movie Night.
