The Riverwest Co-op grocery store and cafe (733 E. Clarke St.) has been a fantastic and invaluable neighborhood resource for more than two decades. But now, the Milwaukee staple is coming to an end.
“Our final day of regular service will be Sunday, September 21,” Riverwest Co-op announced on social media Friday morning. “We invite you to stop in during these last days of operation to come in, shop the store, share a meal, and celebrate 24 years of community and good food.”
The post notes that “while the Co-op is closing, cooperation continues.”
News of a possible closure broke in late August. WTMJ reported that an email from the Co-op’s board of directors to its members discussed a plan to either close or restructure. The email said the plan “follows a decade-long stretch of shifting economic climate, mounting financial losses and deterioration of the underpinning culture the Co-op is built upon.” A special membership meeting was held at Falcon Bowl on September 10.
Back in 2023, Riverwest Co-op launched a GoFundMe to continue operations. “At our current rate of financial losses, the Co-op can survive for only one more month before having to close unless we receive a considerable capital influx, reducing our costs dramatically, and reformulating our original revitalization plan,” the Co-op wrote in 2023. The GoFundMe raised $33,862.
Similar calls-to-action were issued in 2022. Cafe service was temporarily suspended in July 2022.
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