Downtown’s lone grocery store faces threat of closure

BY SHEI MCLAUGHLIN
PHOTOS BY NICO LOPEZ

Downtown Spokane’s Main Street is flanked by restaurants, gift shops and clothing stores, offering a variety of goods for any occasion. Prior to 2010, though, the neighborhood lacked a grocery store.

Main Market Co-op fills that need — and it's the only grocery store in Spokane where you can become a co-owner of a mission-driven small business. But now it's facing the threat of closure, potentially leaving Downtown’s residents without a grocery store once again.

The market, sitting on the corner of Main and Browne, brightens up Main Street with its large mural depicting agricultural favorites like cheese, wine and even a goat. With patio seating out front and adjustable overhead doors, Main Market goes the extra mile to show that they are welcoming to all.

Representing over 100 local farmers and vendors throughout the Pacific Northwest, the market sources everything from cheese and eggs to beer and hot sauce. This partnership grants vendors the opportunity to easily sell their products in-store while allowing customers to support local on a wider scale.

“We try as much as we can to support local farms and farmers,” says Shanon Davis, general manager of Main Market. “We want to provide that visibility in stores for them.”

Main Market offers more the typical grocery store aisles — be sure to check out their deli, cafe and fresh salad bar when visiting. While these menus and products are still, of course, locally-sourced and ever-changing in accordance with the seasons, one thing remains consistent — their offerings always cater to those with food restrictions.

“We don’t just have one customer here, so we’ve diversified our offerings to serve as many people as possible,” Davis says.

But accessibility isn’t limited to just dietary restrictions. Main Market works to embody a mission of affordability, offering conventional foods and brands alongside organic options to ensure everyone can eat.

The market’s organic line, Field Day, slashes the price by 40% to meet the needs of their low-income neighbors and customers who buy $10 in produce with SNAP also get a $5 coupon for their next visit. Discounted days and coupon offerings help the market better the neighborhood’s access to locally-sourced and natural foods, like their $5 Thursday deli dinners with an ever-changing menu.

As a co-op, Main Market is owned by its membership and governed by an elected board of directors, ensuring its revenue stays in the community and its mission impact-focused on battling food insecurity. A full share costs $180, with options to pay in installments as low as $10/year. Memberships come with the power to vote in elections and exclusive discounts to local businesses.

In the past few years, Main Market has struggled with profits and projects it needs to increase sales by 20% in the next six months to keep its doors open. Being an organization built on the foundation of supporting its neighbors, Main Market is now calling for that same community support to ensure they can keep their mission, as well as their store, alive.

When Main Market first opened in 2010, downtown Spokane was still a food desert, lacking nearby access to fresh foods at an affordable price. The market set out to change that, both through its discounted offerings and community projects like “Round-up at the Register” and through its support of various local initiatives like Spokane Community Against Racism’s “Burritos for the People.”

“Round-up at the Register” is Main Market’s nonprofit-support program, where customers can choose to round up their purchase to the nearest dollar in support of a local nonprofit selected each month. The market also served as a meeting point for the burrito program for its two-year duration, providing space for nearly 30,000 burritos to be served to community members.

“As long as [the nonprofit’s] mission revolves around helping people, promoting health and accessibility to food, we want to support them to better our community,” outreach manager Courtney Shirk says.

Main Market is helping sponsor Collective on Main, a collaborative initiative with other local downtown businesses aiming to boost sales in the area. The program, which is new this summer, partners with the small businesses on their block, like Black Label Brewing Co. and Peace Pie, to offer discounts or special offers to patrons. All you have to do is mention the Collective on Main deals at the register to take part.

Main Market is calling for increased customer support over the coming months to ensure their doors can stay open and the co-op can continue living its mission.

“It's a give and take relationship, and we are in need of some people to give so that we can pay that support forward,” Shirk says.