Company Shops Market (Co-Op)

268 E. Front St. Burlington, NC

The Company Shop is open 7 days a week from 7:30am-8:00pm, so stop on by and indulge in a delicious pastry or coffee from the Café, a warm freshly cooked meal at the hot bar, or stock up on all your favorite nutritious groceries and home necessities!

photo taken by: Anna Dorsey

Since the opening in May of 2011, the Company Shops Market has helped bring the Burlington community together by promoting healthy living alongside the help of local farmers and producers. As of August 2012, the co-op owns 2,500 ownership shares that are provided with additional benefits including; 10% of groceries on the second Saturday, the right to vote and run for positions on the Board of Directors, a co-op news letter, a year end patronage dividend, and free home delivery. This cooperatively owned shop supplies the local area with organic, all natural, locally grown foods and products such as groceries, dairy, meat, bulk foods, alcohol, as well as health and home/beauty products. Burlington's Company Store also has a salad, deli, and hot bar for quick meals to enjoy on the go or in the inviting sitting areas inside and outside the store. Before the Co-Op opened in 2011, the people in Burlington had very little access to good, local produce. The town of Burlington had a couple of small farmer's markets, but all with higher priced produce. The Company Shop offers reasonable prices to their customers because they understand how important it is for people to eat healthy, local food and they want to provide the people of Burlington with all of the benefits from eating local products.

Collection of craft wines at the Co-Op photo taken by: Cole Vandermast

The Co-Op places a lot of emphasis on supporting the growth of their community. With an outdoor and indoor sitting area, customers can stop bye to enjoy a wide variety of organic food/drinks with friends and family. Because the majority of the Co-Op’s sold items come from a local farm or business, the money the customers put into the products go right back to the community. This cycle of purchases supports the local economy as well as sustaining farms and local businesses to promote more healthy resources for the area’s population. The Company Shops Market has also put emphasis on buying craft beers and wines from both local breweries and breweries across North Carolina, which supports both local and statewide economy, and cuts down on the usage of imported beers and wines.

The Co-Op is rated very highly by its customers on many different sites. It has a rating of 4.3 on Google, a rating of 4.5 by Facebook users, and a rating of 4.5 by Yelp (these ratings are subject to change). Despite these high ratings, the biggest problem that the Co-Op faces is that while it is always growing in popularity in the Burlington community, it needs more publicity so that it becomes more of a staple for all of the Burlington and Elon community to buy fresh, locally-grown, and artisan products.

Interested in learning more about the Co-Op from the greater Burlington community? Vistit their blog at http://www.companyshopsmarket.coop/blog

`<font face="Cabin, Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif">Shop Market's Mission Statements:</font>`

sustainability: One of the Company Shop's most affective way to promote sustainability is their bagging program. With each re-usable grocery bag you use in their store, you receive a .5¢ store credit. This small incentive not only benefits the environment, but the shoppers as well. The store also reduces waste by composting left over foods and providing recycling bins along side trashcans throughout the store.
helping the local economy: The Company Store buys and sells local products and food to support the Burlington Community's economy. They also provide lots of space for local businesses, organizations, and markets to post fliers for advertisements that attract more customers and participants.
provide fresh produce and healthy grocery products: The Co-Op buys/sells products that come from 250miles or less away to guarantee freshness in the sustainably grown produce.
have a caring environment: All of the employees at the local Co-Op are always eager to accommodate every customers' needs in a friendly and fulfilling manner!

Cafe and Deli:

The Co-Op offers a Hot Bar, Salad Bar, daily breakfast and pastries, made-to-order sandwiches. One can eat in or take out. Everything is freshly cooked and baked.The hours vary:

Hot Bar Hours:
Oatmeal & Biscuits: 8:00 - 11:00 a.m., Monday through Saturday
Lunch: 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., Everyday
Dinner: 5:00 - 7:00 p.m., Friday & Saturday

Salad Bar Hours:
Everyday: 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Brunch Hours:
Saturday & Sunday: 8:00 - 10:00 a.m.

Menu as of February 3, 2017. Retrieved from www.companyshopsmarket.coop

A catering option is also offered. Interested in these option? Contact the customer service team at [email protected] or 336-233-0390

Local Farms sponsored by the Company Shop

The Burlington Co-Op promotes the local produce they are selling that day!

photo taken by: Anna Dorsey

The Company Shop buys products from over 75 local farms that are within 250mi of Burlington. In order to have their produce, livestock, or products sold, they must reach out and contact the Company Shop to let them know they are interested. Each week the Co-op posts a list of produce they are looking for and the farms tell them which produce they can provide and in what quantity. Farmers bring in pastured meat, organic produce, and home goods for the co-op to sell and promote local production. The most popular item the Burlington co-op sells is sweet potatoes because they are in stock all year round. But according to an employee there, people get most excited about fresh corn and tomatoes. Other favorites of customers according to the Co-Op's Yelp page, are their bread, sandwiches, pudding, steak, and the Co-Op is well-known for having an excellent selection of gluten-free products as well. The Company Market gives the farmer's a leg up in the competing food market by buying and selling their products. This means that the more money you spend at the Burlington Company Market, the more money you are putting back into the community to help sustain local farms and businesses.

Alamance Farms featured in the Co-op:

Benjamin Vineyards

- Located on the Haw River, Benjamin Vineyards is a family owned and managed farm winery in Piedmont NC. They offer a wide variety of wines ranging from dry dinner wines to sweet country flavors. Benjamin Vineyards also proudly runs a sustainable wine growing business by composting, recycling, and not generating any process wastewater. Their business follows these sustaining principals: environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic viability. The vineyard believes in giving back to the community by participating in local farmer’s markets and five local co-op stores, including the Burlington’s co-op.

Cane Creek Farm

- Cane Creek Farm is an ethically based farm located in Snow Camp, NC. The family farm breeds pigs, goats, chickens, turkeys, sheep, donkeys and ducks that are Animal Welfare Approved. This sustainable farm rotates crops and animals from various fields to keep the soil and animals healthy. Cane Creek never keep their animals in confinement and are provided with fresh water and clippings from the garden on site.

Stoney Mountain Farm

- Stoney Mountain runs a natural farm aiming to preserve the land as they let nature direct them when/where to plant, and when to breed their animals. The farmers work in order to honor and value the integrity of the earth. Stoney Mountain avoids using pesticides on their gardens and using hormones in their feed. The sheep raised on the farm produce wool that is delicately shaved from the sheep and used to create various eco friendly dryer balls, pet toys, felting kits, and yarn. The farm also uses their fresh flowers from their gardens to extract scents to produce fragrant products.

Check out other Farms in Alamance County:

http://www.ncfarmfresh.com/Directory.asp

Other farms featured in the Co-Op:

Maple View Farm

- Maple View Farm is based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and has been an established farm since the early 1800's, surviving through five generations of family. The farm was moved over 1,000 miles from Maine to North Carolina in 1963 and has been a favorite of the surrounding towns and cities ever since. Maple View products make their way all across North Carolina and, besides Burlington, their products are sold in Durham, Chapel Hill/Carrboro, Fayetteville, Graham, Wilmington, Cary, Mebane, Raleigh, and several other locations state-wide. Maple View Farm's main products include milk and ice cream, but they sell other dairy products as well. Maple View Farm has grown into an extremely successful business that supports local farms and groceries all over the state, and Maple View has also made a name for itself by giving back to its community any way it can.