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Windsor Terrace Food Co-op Will Soon Be Open 7 Days a Week

 The new food co-op is now open four days a week but plans to expand its hours in October.
Fledgling Windsor Terrace Food Co-op Will Soon Be Open 7 Days a Week
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KENSINGTON — After just four months in business, the Windsor Terrace Food Co-op has more than 500 members and is poised to expand its operating hours, store leaders announced recently.

"In the beginning we had no idea if this was going to work," said board chair Jack O'Connell. "So far the response has been very strong."

The small store will be open seven days a week starting this fall to meet the needs of a growing membership roster, O'Connell said.

Since opening in March, the fledgling member-run grocery store at 825 Caton Ave. has only been open on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for a total of 24 hours a week.

Starting Oct. 4, the store will be open at least three hours a day, seven days a week.

The store is also aiming to grow its membership list.

Organizers want to sign up 750 members by the end of the year, O'Connell said. With that many people on board, the food co-op could afford to hire an employee to oversee some of its operations, O'Connell said.

But even with no paid staff, the modest store has been a success so far, O'Connell said.

In the early days, shoppers chose from merchandise spread out on two tables. In the last month, members have built new bins for produce and shelves for dry goods. The store still doesn't sell meat or seafood, but the produce and dry goods selections are slowly expanding, O'Connell said.

"The facility is beginning to look like a store," O'Connell said.

The Windsor Terrace Food Co-op is modeled after the 42-year-old Park Slope Food Co-op. Members are required to work a shift at the store in exchange for the privilege of buying its farm-fresh, mostly organic and pesticide-free food.

The new food co-op was launched after the closure of a Key Food grocery store in Windsor Terrace. Despite its name, it's located on a corner that's generally considered to be in Kensington. The store draws most of its members from Kensington and Ditmas Park, O'Connell said.

Some members belong to both the Windsor Terrace and Park Slope food co-ops, O'Connell said. They use the Windsor Terrace store for more frequent produce shopping, then travel to Park Slope to buy products such as meat.

Many members are families with young children, O'Connell said, which he interprets as a good sign for the store's survival. Families tend to move less often than singles or couples without children, O'Connell said, so he's hopeful the current members will stick around in the coming years.

He's also feeling positive about the new food co-op's future because it's directly across the street from M.S. 839, a new school opening this fall.

"Our demographics are favorable for us to succeed," O'Connell said.