Meet SunCoast Market Co-op Imperial Beach, CA | Shannon Ratliff, Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with SunCoast Market Co-op Imperial Beach, CA and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi SunCoast Market Co-op, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
Many people don’t realize the vast benefits of having grocery stores in your own neighborhood. When more grocery stores open close to your home, not only do you gain access to more healthy foods, you also gain more local jobs, more money in your local economy, a greater sense of community, you gain back the time you spent driving out of town, and in the case of cooperatives–you gain a store that truly cares about the neighborhood. That’s because it actually is owned by hundreds of people that live there.

What should our readers know about your business?
Several year ago the residents of Imperial Beach started a petition to get a better grocery store in our neighborhood. As a low to middle income city, we have an abundance of fast food and convenience stores and limited fresh grocery options. Purchasing organically grown or locally produced foods is nearly impossible. When we were told that full service grocery stores were not interested in opening in our community, the residents organized to find a solution. What came of that is SunCoast Market Co-op, a 100% community-owned, full service grocery cooperative that will open in Imperial Beach. However, opening a community-owned grocer requires an incredible about of work and money. Without corporate dollars or outside investors, every dime has to be raised by the community itself. Initially the group was about 40 people, called owners, but we knew that most co-ops have about 1400 owners by the time they open their doors. We also know that it will cost at least $3 million dollars to open. So we are tasked with educating the community about coops in general, gaining trust for the ownership model (people purchase an ownership share for $200), and teaching others about how coops grow and are funded. This is a huge task and doesn’t mention all of the steps required to open a successful multi-million dollar business. We are also opening in an extremely diverse neighborhood and coops are built to serve everyone, engaging everyone in the process is a challenge that we accept at every turn. As an almost exclusively volunteer run and democratically operated venture, the success relies on the elected Board of Directors and a host of passionate community members to move through these challenges and each of the milestones needed to get to opening day.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As a cooperative, we love to support other cooperatively run and environment minded businesses. Ocean Beach People’s Co-op Food Market is San Diego County’s first grocery cooperative. With nearly 11,000 owners and a 50 year track record, they have it on lock! Breakfast from their award winning organic, vegetarian hot food bar is a must. Then a cruise down to see the ocean would be required. We love a farm tour, so we’d take them to see South Bay’s worker owned Pixca Farm and the local favorite, Wild Willow Farm, an educational farm started by one of our owners. While we are near Imperial Beach, we’d be sure to grab lunch at Coronado Brewing Company or Siam Imperial Thai Kitchen, take a walk on the pier for those amazing views and a little dolphin watching, and then let them shell shop at the iconic Bibbey’s. On the way out of town, we’d grab coffee and a gluten free pastry from Millport. By then, we’d be ready for a drink at Fruitcraft, an employee and member owned fermentary and distillery in Hillcrest. We’d also mix in a little business by checking out some zero waste businesses like Mighty Bin and The Plot restaurant, where we’d have to end the night ordering every item on their menu!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
About 170 cooperatives have opened since 2006 and the Food Coop Initiative (FCI) has helped nearly all of them. When our community wanted better grocery options, we knew we needed to do it ourselves but didn’t have the experience of opening a grocery store. FCI continues to provide education, training, mentorship, and consultant referrals for each step of the process. They’ve also connected us with dozens of other coops that are opening across the country so that we can share expertise.

Website: www.suncoastmarket.coop

Instagram: suncoastmarket

Facebook: www.facebook.com/suncoastmarket

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEmqB-H-Z5YOhGUhSXdf2GA/featured