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October 5, 2006

In the News

The Town Dandy
Best enemies

Short Stor

Shout of the Desert


Eureka's monster Co-op
Fancier digs, new downtown spot, something for everyone

by HELEN SANDERSON

Arriving at the new downtown North Coast Co-op in Eureka by way of back roads on Friday morning was bizarre, in the way that sad juxtapositions make you feel creepy and out of sorts. Third Street, from Commerical to C, was gray and grimy and pot-holey. Hangers-on lined up for a free meal at St. Vinny's dining facility. On the opposite side of the street, nearer the Rescue Mission, homeless folks huddled on the sidewalk, chatting, watching traffic, keeping warm, waiting. It was undeniably grim, as it has been for years.

But once you turned the corner on B Street toward Fourth -- voila! The squalor had been erased. Massive, modern eco-grooviness loomed large, in beige stucco and vibrant colored trims. The new Eureka Co-op looked like a beautifully wrapped box full of incense. Organic beer and Brio bread and the allure of the merchandise drew Eurekans in like a tractor beam, leaving cars to jockey in vain for vacancies on the blacktop parking lot.

With an architectural flair that screamed sunny So-Cal, the North Coast Co-op eclipsed the surrounding ghetto gloom, and on Friday morning the good vibes that shone on the store would not be denied. It was opening day and the celebration had started.

In fact it began painfully early, around 5:30 a.m., when the real party people came in pre-sunrise darkness to wait for the store to open its doors. Among the eager groupies was Eureka 1st Ward Councilmember Mary Beth Wolford. At 6 o'clock, the red-headed politico raced in and paid the store its first dollar bill, on which she signed her name just to make it official. By 6:30 a.m., three people had already become new North Coast Co-op members.

The remaining early morning hours were calm, but by 9:30 things were fairly bumpin'. People circuited the capacious (28,800 square feet) new digs with shopping carts brimming with organic goods. Others punched buttons on the computerized kiosk or donned headphones at the Putumayo CD listening station. They drank complimentary coffee and entered a raffle to win the red mountain bike that hung from the ceiling. It was a far cry from the Eureka Co-op of old, a 4,000-square foot facility on Fifth and L streets with only 14 parking spots.

By 10 a.m. it was time for the ribbon-cutting. Important Co-op workers and almost every local politician, past and present (Patty Berg, Bonnie Neely, Jeff Leonard, Peter La Vallee, Mike Jones, Nancy Flemming, Cherie Arkley) lined up behind the red sash and froze their best smiles for what seemed like forever, giving journalists and other photographers ample opportunity to take copious pictures. Politicians squeezed in next to a man wielding massive scissors, while employees stood on the fringes. Many thanks were issued to everyone who made this $4 million-plus venture a reality. Finally, the ceremonial shears went snip and everyone applauded with polite enthusiasm. Then they parted ways and did interviews.

Ribbon cuttings happen all the time -- two or three times a month, according to the Eureka Chamber of Commerce's J Warren Hockaday. But this one was undeniably different, not just for the number of people it drew but for the political cross-section that seemed intent on asserting their attachment to this gro-

cery store. (In fairness, it's more than just a grocery store: There's a commercial kitchen for cooking classes and a conference room for public meetings -- not to mention that the North Coast Co-ops are the only state-certified organic retailers north of the Bay Area.)

From the left, the Co-op seems to serve as a symbol of Eureka's changing demographic toward a stronger liberal base, one that presumably likes organic food and democratic member-control of their food markets. From the right, the focus is on Rob Arkley, who happens to be co-owner of the Co-op building. From the perspective of those who support Arkley's aggressive efforts to clean up Eureka, the Co-op looks more like a first step toward gentrifying the depressed waterfront, in particular Eureka's cause célèbre, the Balloon Track.

So where does this leave Eureka? Simply put, with a humongous, new, organic, gourmet grocery store and another one (26,000 square feet) on the way less than a mile down the road -- the new Eureka Natural Foods.


Photo by Helen Sanderson

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Photo by Helen Sanderson

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Photo by Helen Sanderson

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Photo by Helen Sanderson

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Photo by Joel Mielke

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