Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The Merc Co+op history
The Merc Co+op company history timeline
In 1974, a small group of Lawrencians acted on their shared passion for community access to affordable whole foods and formed a volunteer-run, organized buying club distributing bulk foods out of Harry and Judy Kroeger’s house in Lawrence.
Our first official store front opened in January 1975.
The co-op moved to 7th & Maine in August of 1977.
The co-op moved to this location in 1993.
Facing competition from the newly opened Wild Oats Market, they narrowly escape bankruptcy but quickly recover when Wild Oats abruptly closes in 1996.
The co-op moved to 9th & Iowa, the former site of Rusty's IGA, in 2001.
The GFGH school garden project broke ground at neighboring West Middle School in 2010.
With an owner base of more than 6,700 and annual sales reaching $13.6 million, the first direct competition since Wild Oats, Natural Grocers, enters Lawrence in November 2011.
Our current Ends were authored by the Board of Directors in September of 2015.
Our 2015 Growing Food Growing Health Student Gardeners with The Merc Co+op's Education and Outreach Department.
In 2016 CMEF will construct educational gardens at Hillcrest Elementary and Sunset Hill Elementary following major renovations at both schools.
In October 2017, the co-op embarked on what will be Lawrence’s largest solar energy project to date.
Rate how well The Merc Co+op lives up to its initial vision.
The Merc Co+op jobs
Do you work at The Merc Co+op?
Does The Merc Co+op communicate its history to new hires?
The Merc Co+op competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organic Avenue | 2002 | $4.3M | 350 | - |
| Native Sun | 1997 | $3.9M | 75 | 4 |
| Stafford Food Inc | 1978 | $170.0M | 820 | - |
| Solstice Holdings Inc | 2002 | $2.0B | 14,000 | 49 |
| Color Services | 1976 | $1.4M | 25 | 7 |
| ARMSTRONGS SUPPLY | 1927 | $12.4M | 20 | - |
| Bookmark | 1973 | $1.4M | 26 | - |
| Draper | 1902 | $200.0M | 1,700 | 200 |
| Aveda | 1978 | $1.1B | 1,700 | - |
| Noble Food | 1969 | - | 376 | 1 |
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of The Merc Co+op, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about The Merc Co+op. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at The Merc Co+op. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by The Merc Co+op. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of The Merc Co+op and its employees or that of Zippia.
The Merc Co+op may also be known as or be related to The Merc Co+op and Community Mercantile Inc/The.