Construction has been steadily moving forward. As can be expected with a 50+ year old building, there have been some unexpected but not surprising structural improvements needed which delayed the project more than once.
Timeline: Soft Launch late September/early October with the new menu across Grab n’ Go, sandwiches, coffee, bakery, smoothies, and deli cuts in addition to reintroducing a prepared foods service case. Again, this timeline is dependent on when construction is completed and inspections pass. The hybrid hot/salad bar table will be arriving late October and the launch will happen once the equipment is installed.
Contruction:
Food Program: The team continues to work on training and new recipe development. Join us every Saturday at noon to sample new items in store and share your feedback!
Behind the dust wall, our Deli is taking shape! Quite literally, wood framing for the new Deli went up this week and revealed the contour of countertops, display cases, and workstations. With your cooperator shades on, you can see what we see: a delicious hub soon to be filled with people, great food, stimulating conversation, and plenty of community to keep your tummy and your soul full.
This week, the scope of work focused on structural work and framing. The rooms, walls and window frames are starting to take shape.
Meanwhile, our Deli staff has been meeting for all staff collabs and trainings in between cook outs. We discussed the results of our customer survey. That feedback helped our team build ingredient standards. Here are a few examples of the standards we’ve come up with:
March 2026 As the new year brings opportunity for growth, improvements and fresh starts, we are thrilled to announce plans for a remodel of our Deli, bathrooms, employee workspace, and breakroom.
For years, we have hoped to elevate our beloved Deli department as it is outdated and was severely impacted by the pandemic. We have heard the requests from members to improve our menu offerings and have been previously limited by our current kitchen appliances and space. Thankfully, we were able to make headway to a Deli remodel and once plans are approved, will start the project in partnership with Indigo | Hammond + Playle Architects and local contractor, Pacific Craft Builders early March, 2026.
This remodel will also help us meet one of three Ends, access to fresh, local, and high quality food. Its capabilities will allow us to expand our offerings to and provide high quality food at the standard of care that co-op members desire. We released a survey which received around 150 responses with food, variety, and quality requests. We are currently reviewing our menu to improve or update new staple items, create a seasonal rotating menu featuring local produce, bring back a full hot bar, salad bar, and service case. Plus, improve our café offerings, and expand our bakery to include cakes, cupcakes, more vegan options, and more wheat free options.
Additionally, we plan to improve ingredient standards across our Deli offerings which will include whole ingredients that are high quality, ~98% organic with a focus on local plus, humane practices for any offering containing meat. Our goal is to reinvest into the cooperative to ensure that our community owned cooperative continues to be operational and hopefully, continues to be a Davis household go-to for ethical, local, and cooperative groceries. It has not been easy for local retailers these past few years but with your continued support, we hope to be resilient against adversity.
Construction Hours: Work crews will work during operating hours. The Deli area will be completely closed off to ensure the project is completed as fast as possible. We also provide curbside pickup at no extra cost. We are always happy to show you how to shop for a grocery pickup.
Food offerings during the project: We will still offer food in our Grab-and-Go! Our Deli team will be producing in a commercial kitchen to ensure that we can still offer some grab-and-go items for our members and shoppers. Mermaid Sushi will make sushi fresh daily and deliver to our Grab-and-Go section around 11am everyday.
Stay in the know
We will add a weekly update to our newsletter once construction starts for our members to stay up to date on progress and developments. If you are not already a part of our Heirloom e-newsletter, please join here.
Questions?
If you have questions about the Deli remodel, please email [email protected]!
