Los Alamos Co-Op Market to Hold Annual Members Meeting Saturday

Los Alamos’ only local grocer put its future on the table Saturday, as member-owners gathered at the Holiday Inn Express in Los Alamos to hear how the community-owned market is doing and where it is headed. For a store that calls itself the county’s first independent cooperative grocery, the annual meeting was more than a routine update. It was a check-in on prices, staffing, leadership and the store’s ability to keep serving a town that values local ownership.

The Los Alamos Cooperative Market says its mission is to serve Los Alamos County and surrounding communities with fairly priced, wholesome foods and other goods in an ecologically sustainable, socially responsible and economically appropriate manner. That mission gives the annual meeting real weight. Unlike a conventional grocery, the co-op is built around member-owners, and those members can attend annual meetings, vote for board members and even become board members themselves.

The current board lists Robi Mulford as president, Isaiah Madrid as treasurer, Kate Williamson as secretary, Lindsey Reader in community engagement and Jeff Jansen as a board member. The board is also looking for an engaged member to fill a vacant seat, and service requires four months of membership and about 4 to 10 hours a month. That makes the meeting a governance event as much as a community gathering, with owners hearing directly how the store is being run and who is making decisions about its direction.

The stakes were sharpened by the co-op’s recent history. In 2024, members were warned that the store faced an uncertain future because of long-term sales and staffing challenges, and a later annual meeting drew such a large crowd that a wall partition had to be removed to make room. Saturday’s turnout came against that backdrop, with the co-op still carrying the memory of a moment when its survival was openly in question.

The store, which opened in 2011, sits at 95 Entrada Dr. and is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Los Alamos County also includes the business in its directory and repeats the co-op’s mission, underscoring its role in the local economy. The market says it works with local vendors and farmers, tying the meeting not only to one store’s balance sheet, but also to the broader effort to keep food dollars, jobs and supply relationships rooted in the community.