Mississippi Market Opens: Triples size of its second store

Mississippi Market, St. Paul’s premier natural and organic food cooperative with more than 9,000 member-owners, opened a new store at in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday, July 16. At 13,345 square feet, the new store is triple the size of the Mississippi Market located at Randolph and Fairview Avenues, and includes:

• Full-service deli with juice bar, hot bar and salad bar;
• Meat-cutting room with a serviced meat case;
• Complete produce department with expanded cooler space and an ice table;
• 470 square feet of classroom/meeting space with demo kitchen;
• Staffed health and body counter;
• Indoor seating area for 30 people; and
• Outdoor seating for 10 people.

Mississippi Market’s second store, at Selby and Dale, remains open.

“We are so proud of the new Mississippi Market,” said Gail Graham, general manager. “In addition to providing access to organic and local foods, this new location will become a gathering place for the West End neighborhood just like our other stores have for their respective communities. It’s fitting that we open this new location the same year that we celebrate our 30th anniversary—it’s a sign of commitment and service to our loyal customers, and we look forward to another great 30 years and beyond.“  

Green Building Features
The new store is built “green” to LEED-Gold standards and includes eco-friendly features, such as:

A high-efficiency HVAC system that will use 42 percent less energy to maintain an ambient environment;
White roofing for climate control, energy ­conservation and reduced heat-island effect;
A heat recapture unit to reduce the amount of energy required to heat water in the building;
Eleven skylights and abundant windows for natural lighting;
Daylight-harvesting controls that automatically dim lights to conserve energy on sunny days;
“Stormtech” underground water-retention system to capture water runoff and divert it to rain gardens, instead of the sewer;
Rain gardens and permeable pavers to reduce runoff into storm sewers;
Sealed concrete floors that will not require waxing or chemical solvents for cleaning;
A shower in the staff restroom to encourage biking and walking to work;
Low-VOC paints and adhesives;
LED lighting in the new freezers and walk-in dairy cooler;
Marmoleum counters (a natural linoleum product made of linseed oil, resins and wood flour);
Refurbished counters for the customer service desk, as well as a reconditioned bulk cooler and two reused produce cases;
Double the number of bike racks, plus reserved parking for hybrids and compact cars; and
Recycling of 75 percent of all construction waste.

These eco-friendly features mean Mississippi Market expects to achieve:
42 percent less energy usage as compared to a conventional building of the same size and usage (based on findings from Xcel Energy);
26 percent savings on energy costs, mostly from natural gas usage;
527.9 tons per year in savings of carbon dioxide emissions (by comparison, in 2008, Mississippi Market used 866 tons of carbon dioxide at their Selby store and 354 tons at Randolph).

Mississippi Market has chosen not to pursue LEED certification at this time. It has instead chosen to allocate those funds to the addition of more green features than would have been possible otherwise.

“Even though we’re not registering for LEED certification now, it was important to us to build our new store as if we were,” Graham said. “Should we choose to register for LEED certification in the future, we already have 41 points out of 100 on the LEED ratings system.”

Opening… and closing
The Randolph store was closed on Sunday, July 12, after 18 years in its Highland Park location. A closing ceremony was held on Saturday, July 11 to say goodbye, share stories and memories in a special Mississippi Market “Story Booth,” and to be a part of the formal “moving of the Peace Pole” ceremony.

The new store opening on Thursday, July 16 included a Peace Pole dedication ceremony and ongoing mini-classes throughout the day, such as “How to Shop at Mississippi Market,” “Local Foods: What’s in Season?” and “All About ­Organics.”

Mississippi Market
W. Seventh Street, St. Paul, Minn.
12,705 interior square feet
7,722 retail square feet
499-square-foot indoor seating area
4,054-square-foot back room
470-square-foot classroom
55 parking places
4 cash register lanes
Indoor seating for 30 people
Outdoor seating for 10 people

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