Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Saturday, January 12, 2008

People’s Food Co-op has no plans for second location

By STEVE CAHALAN | La Crosse Tribune

The People’s Food Co-op in downtown La Crosse currently has no plans for a second location, although it recently was approached by developers of the planned $35 million, 15-acre development along Theater Road in Onalaska, Wis., the co-op’s general manager said Friday.

A site plan filed this week with the city of Onalaska for the proposed Eagle Bluff Centre lists a food co-op and a bank as two of seven planned buildings, but gives no business names.

Spokesmen for the project said Monday it includes a 12-screen cinema, an extended-stay hotel with 88 rooms, one or two restaurants and retail and office space. They were not available for comment Friday on whether the site plan reference was to People’s Food Co-op.

“They did approach us to ask us if we’d have some interest” in being part of the project, perhaps 60 days ago, said Michelle Schry, the food co-op’s general manager. “We said we’d take a look at it.” That hasn’t happened yet, she said.

“It’s probably way down the road” if the co-op ever builds a second location, Schry said. “We’ve had a lot of people ask us if we’d look at Onalaska” for a second location. But there are no plans at this time to build one, she said.

Steve Cahalan can be reached at (608) 791-8229 or scahalan@lacrossetribune.com.