Consumers' Cooperative of Berkeley facts for kids
The Consumers' Cooperative of Berkeley, often called the Berkeley Co-op, was a special kind of business. It was a consumers' cooperative in Berkeley. This means it was owned and run by its customers, not by private owners. The Co-op operated from 1939 to 1988.
At its peak, the Berkeley Co-op was the biggest cooperative of its kind in North America. It had over 100,000 members! Its closing in 1988 led to many discussions. People wondered how food cooperatives should be managed.
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How the Berkeley Co-op Started
The idea for the Co-op began during the Great Depression. This was a time when many people struggled financially. On January 27, 1936, a small group of families formed the Berkeley Buyers' Club. They were active in a movement called EPIC.
At first, the club operated from a minister's basement in Alameda. They worked with another buyers' club from Oakland, California. In April 1937, about sixty families joined together. They opened the first Co-op store at 2491 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley.
Growing Bigger and Bigger
By the end of 1937, the store moved to a larger place on University Avenue. By 1939, the Co-op had grown to 225 families. They were selling about $700 worth of goods each week.
The Co-op continued to grow quickly. In 1957, it was the second-largest urban cooperative in the United States. It had 6,000 member families. By 1963, there were 30,000 families enrolled. The Co-op had also opened several stores.
Challenges and Changes
During the 1960s, there were often disagreements among the Co-op's leaders. Elections for the Co-op board were often very competitive. Different groups had different ideas about how the Co-op should be run. One group, led by board member Robert Treuhaft, often ran against the "official" candidates. This led to a lot of debate and close votes.
At one point, the Co-op ran 12 supermarkets. They had sales of $83 million. But in the 1970s, the Co-op started closing stores. They also began selling off some of their properties.
The Co-op finally closed in 1988. Several reasons led to its end. These included expanding too quickly and disagreements among the board members. There were also difficulties in working with the employees' union.
The Berkeley Co-op bought many of its products from National Cooperatives. These products often had the CO-OP label. You could see this label on many items in the stores.
Where Were the Co-op Stores?
The Berkeley Co-op had many locations over the years. Here are some of them:
- 1414 University Avenue (at Acton Street): This was the main Co-op store until the early 1960s. It had a grocery store and a hardware store. The grocery even had a child care area called the "Kiddie Korral." Today, Target has a store in the old grocery building.
- 1550 Shattuck Avenue (at Cedar Street): This Co-op opened in the early 1960s. It was a new building. It also housed a bookstore and the Co-op Credit Union. The Credit Union still exists today, but in a different spot.
- 3000 Telegraph Avenue (at Ashby Avenue): This store opened in the early 1960s. It used to be another grocery store. For a while, it had a Winchell's Donuts and a barbecue chicken vendor inside. Today, Whole Foods operates a grocery store here.
- El Cerrito, 1751 Eastshore Blvd: This location later became a hardware store. It is currently empty.
- Castro Valley, 3667 Castro Valley Blvd.
- 1510 Geary Road, Walnut Creek/Pleasant Hill.
- Corte Madera, Marin: This store was in Marin County.
- San Francisco: This Co-op was in the Northpoint Center near Fisherman's Wharf.
- Co-op Garage: This was a garage located near the University Avenue grocery store.
- Oakland: MacArthur Broadway Shopping Center (MacArthur at Broadway): This store was once a Mayfair supermarket. The entire shopping center was later taken down. Now, it's part of the Oakland Kaiser Hospital.
- Oakland: 5730 Telegraph Ave: This was also a former Mayfair supermarket. The building is now used by Alta Bates Hospital for medical services.
- Warehouse: The Co-op also used a large warehouse in Richmond. This warehouse was owned by Associated Cooperatives, Inc. This was a larger group that supplied many co-ops. The closing of the Berkeley Co-op also affected this warehouse business.
