Join us and let’s rebuild our beloved store!
Join us, your neighbors and friends, as we work together to reopen the Nordland General Store as a community-owned and operated business. With your help, we can rebuild and reopen our community store in 2024 .
Our Mission
We plan to build a lasting community store which welcomes all and connects everyone. The Nordland General Store will once again be the heart and soul of our island community!
Our Vision
The store will be warm and welcoming with an emphasis on community. We plan to showcase local farmers, producers and makers.
Our goal is a well-organized and easy to navigate store that reflects the personality of our beautiful island. We will carry a range of convenience and specialty food products, sundries, store merchandise and crafts.
We plan to appeal to a wide range of shoppers — from those planning to enjoy Mystery Bay goat cheese and Marrowstone Vineyards wine to those buying marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate for fireside s’mores.
Our Plan
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Enlist the Community
The store is structured as a cooperative corporation, or “co-op.” The co-op business model embraces a democratic, cooperative style of ownership. We are excited to become a true community store — one that strengthens and connects our island community.
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Assemble a Founding Management Board
Our founding volunteer Board of Directors are all islanders, with years of combined experience in business, community organizations, and eating and buying local. At our annual membership meetings, members will be able to elect new Directors.
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Raise Money
We have raised start-up funding from over 30 founding investors, and now it’s time to raise additional funding from the broader community. Our goal is to reopen the store with 500 members and 20 new financial investors, all of whom are dedicated to the success of the cooperative.
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Hire Staff
We will hire a full-time, salaried General Manager to oversee store operations with the help of part-time, paid staff and community volunteers. The store employees will be the friendly, public face of the co-op.
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Showcase Local
We want the store to showcase our local farmers, producers and makers. We hope to highlight as many unique Marrowstone Island products and merchandise as possible.
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Reopen Early Summer 2024
Our grand re-opening will happen during Tractor Days, the last weekend of May 2024. In the coming weeks we will add shelving, coolers/freezers, counter space, wall art and inventory.
Our Progress
370 Members
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370 Members *
*Updated 2/28/2024
Help us reach our goal of 500 members!
We've raised significant start-up funds from over 30 founding investors, and now it’s time to raise additional funding from the broader community. Our goal is to reopen the store with 500 members and 50 financial investors, all of whom are dedicated to the success of the cooperative.
Get Involved
Become a member. We need everyone’s help to get the store reopened in 2024 and stay open for years to come. We encourage you and your friends and family (who are 18 years of age or older) to become Nordland General Store lifetime members.
Become involved. Sign up to volunteer or donate materials, apply to be a vendor/maker or invest as a preferred shareholder.
Become a shopper. Get your shopping list ready! The more you make our community store a regular part of your shopping routine, the stronger our store will be.
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It’s simple. We all want our store back. We all want to have a say in how the store is run and the role it plays in our community. The easiest way for you to help open our store is to become a member. By becoming a member, you are supporting the store financially and you are receiving a vote in deciding how the store is operated.
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The store is currently an empty canvas and we need to fill it with shelving, displays, coolers, freezers and other equipment. Then we need to stock the store with a variety of goodies and merchandise. The funds we receive from our community will cover the costs of building out the store and buying inventory. And to be sure we are prepared for any operating challenges, we need to have a small cash reserve set aside.
To help out the store beyond your lifetime membership fee, WA state residents can invest in NGS preferred shares. Each share is $250, and members can purchase 4 to 100 shares. Preferred shares do not have voting rights but are eligible for dividends. The preferred shares, like most investments, are risky and have no guaranteed return. Dividends, if any, are expected to be small. Investments in NGS should be viewed as a long term investment in the community.
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Volunteer your construction talent, your technical prowess, your retail skills, your general good cheer and sense of humor. We won’t be able to on-board everyone before the reopening, but you intrepid few who have dreamt of being a part of this adventure for no pay, please reach out and offer your services.
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Donate your money, your time, your shelves, your island artifacts, your photos, your stories. If you think you can help the store with a donation, we’d love to hear from you.
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We want to showcase our local producers and makers. If you would like your products to be a part of the store, please apply and if selected, we will do our best to highlight your creations on our shelves.
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We are excited to hear from you. Share your ideas, stories, advice. We may not be able to make everyone’s dream for the store a reality, but we do care about listening to your thoughts and doing our best to create a true community store.