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Jennifer Stolz
After serving the past 11 years as General Manager of the Cook County Whole Foods Co-op, a sometimes tumultuous time that included building a new store and weathering the rigors of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jennifer Stolz has decided it’s time to let someone else take the reins, and when she leaves in October, she will leave a thriving business.
“We are up to 2,500 owners,” Stolz said, adding, “We have continually grown beyond our expectations, and we continue to grow.”
Located on the East Bay of Grand Marais, Cook County Co-op is a full-service grocery store that has a deli and café seating. The Co-op is a member owned business and is run by a member elected Board of Directors who help guide and evaluate the general manager who runs day-today operations.
In 2012 the decision was made to rebuild the co-op at its current location, but that meant moving the business for seven months while the expansion was done. “Our goal was to be back in the store by July 4, 2013, and we actually beat that and were back open in June,” she said.
The pandemic said Stolz, “was stressful. I’m not going to lie. Every day we would have to make a new plan to follow the CDC guidelines. It was difficult for staff and for the customers.”
The pandemic also brought on other challenges as well. “Sometimes we couldn’t get the products we ordered, produce, groceries, but we got through it.”
When the pandemic wasn’t interfering, sometimes products couldn’t be found because of weather. For example, a late spring frost in Door County, Wisconsin, affected the cherry harvest, and forest fires out west have dented the availability of some types of produce. In addition, from fruit to lettuce, drought conditions have damaged and diminished crops out west.
Also, noted Stolz, the price of food had gone up as transportation costs have risen.
Still, year to year growth has been pretty much double digit, she said, “Even last year through covid, we ended up 11 percent from the year before.”
And, Stolz said, “It will be really exciting once the borders open up.” That’s because many people in Thunder Bay are co-op owners and many others are steady customers. Adding those clients back to the burgeoning mix means another expansion will have to be discussed sometime in the future.
“That’s not for me. I was brought here to oversee the first expansion. The next one will be for someone else.”
No one person builds a business independently, and Stolz was quick to credit an excellent staff and a stable management team. “We have had some turnover but have been really lucky to keep so many of the team. This is a tough business to run. You need to scale up in the summer and scale down in the winter when it is slower.”
Noting the fluctuations in business, Stolz said having a core group of dedicated people is essential, adding those employees receive profit sharing and health insurance, benefits a lot of businesses in the area can’t offer.
A national search will be conducted to replace Jenifer. “I’m not part of that process, but when they find someone, I will stay and help train them. I hope to be finished working by the end of October. My husband and I recently built our dream home on Devil Track Lake, and I can’t wait to enjoy it. At some point, I will probably have to go back to work, but it will be a job with fewer hours.”
For the time being, Jennifer will be at the Co-op working. But she says once she’s done, she will be a shopper at the Co-op. “I plan to shop here for years to come,” she said with a smile.
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