Willy Street Co-op To Move Kitchen to Garver Feed Mill

The cooperative is expanding its production space fourfold to support growing demand from its 34,000 members.

Updated on Oct. 28, 2026 in Organic Food

Willy Street Co-op To Move Kitchen to Garver Feed Mill

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Willy Street Co-op will move its commercial production kitchen to the Garver Feed Mill in early 2027. The expansion aims to alleviate current capacity constraints as the co-op serves its 34,000 members in Madison.

Why it matters

The co-op has reached storage and workspace limits at its current East Main Street location, making an expansion necessary to maintain production levels. Expanding the existing facility is cost-prohibitive, driving the move to a new 15,000-square-foot space.

Willy Street Co-op reported $69.9 million in 2025 revenue, marking a 7.3% increase over 2024 results, while adding 2,000 new members. The impact of moving the 40-person kitchen staff to a space four times the current size remains to be seen.

The players

Willy Street Co-op

A Madison-based cooperative that provides organic and natural groceries through three storefronts.

Garver Feed Mill

A historic Madison facility repurposed as a hub for local businesses and food producers.

NessAlla Kombucha

A regional beverage producer that currently occupies the space at Garver Feed Mill.

The details

The new kitchen facility at Garver Feed Mill spans 15,000 square feet, providing four times the area available at the current 1882 East Main St. site. This expanded footprint is designed to support current production requirements and provide enough scale to potentially supply a future fourth store location. Conversion work is scheduled to commence in early January 2027.

Willy Street Co-op incorporated in 1973.
The kitchen at 1882 East Main St. began operations in 2005.
NessAlla Kombucha will vacate the Garver Feed Mill space by the end of 2026.
Renovation of the new production kitchen begins in early January 2027.
The new kitchen is expected to be operational by early spring 2027.

Health Landscape

The transition to larger production facilities reflects a broader trend of local food cooperatives scaling infrastructure to meet rising demand for organic products. This expansion marks a necessary evolution as the co-op aims to maintain service quality for its growing Madison membership base.

Members can expect the co-op to maintain and potentially expand its current food offerings as the kitchen scales operations. Any changes to product availability or store hours during the transition period are worth monitoring via the co-op's official updates.

The takeaway

Reliable access to organic, locally produced goods requires scalable infrastructure for the organizations that provide them. Madison members should follow the co-op's updates for information on any changes to store-prepared food selections during the move.