BlackBerry Food Co-op opens in Cottage Grove, aims for lasting local access

BlackBerry Food Co-op opened inside the Cottage Grove Public Market building at 926 E. Main Street, turning a longtime local farm stand into a member-owned grocery built around one core goal: keep fresh food available in Cottage Grove for the long haul. The co-op said it reached 300 members as it launched with food and product samples, kids’ activities, a scavenger hunt and a ribbon cutting with Forest Choir.

The opening marks a shift that began in April 2024, when Scott Burgwin told a public meeting he wanted to transform Coast Fork Farm Stand into a food cooperative. Burgwin moved the business into the Cottage Grove Public Market building and began talking about a model that would keep the space in place for future generations, rather than leaving local food access tied to one owner’s timeline.

That matters in a town where the farm stand had already become part of the local routine. The Chronicle reported in 2019 that Burgwin spent four years selling produce in tents before Coast Fork Farm Stand opened, and that the community repeatedly backed the business through rough early years. The stand was marking its 10th anniversary that October, a sign that the operation had already become more than a place to buy vegetables.

BlackBerry Food Co-op says its mission is to provide fresh, organic and natural foods at fair prices while supporting a resilient local economy. The store also says it will keep Coast Fork Farm Stand’s mission alive as a community-owned grocery, pairing local food access with a structure that lets shoppers become part-owners instead of one-time customers. Its volunteers are being asked to help with box breakdown, dishes, cleaning, refilling bulk jars, stocking shelves and Thursday-Friday shifts.

The broader setting gives the opening added weight. Twinberry Commons has described the public market, food co-op and incubator space as part of a wider community-building effort in Cottage Grove, and the city’s Main Street Revitalization Project was completed after more than a decade of planning and construction. With downtown traffic shifting back onto Main Street, a grocery anchored there can do more than sell produce. It can keep food dollars circulating locally, support small farmers and businesses, and give Cottage Grove a durable access point that is rooted in the heart of town.