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Co-op Finds New Store After Fire

Kealey Bultena
/
SDPB

A small local food store in Sioux Falls is re-opening after being destroyed by fire. Authorities say someone set the fire inside The Co-op Natural Foods building after taking money from the register. Now the business is looking forward just more than a week after the fire.

Board members and supporters stand in a long line among the remnants of a video rental store in Sioux Falls. The former Movie Gallery near 18th street and Minnesota Avenue is soon to be a home for the Co-op Natural Foods.

Leaders can’t restore the full business on their three-week timeline, but they say they want to provide people with important basics – like fresh peanut butter and oatmeal. General Manager Molly Langley says the Co-op is a local business that supports other local businesses.

"Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota. People come from miles and miles. They hit the Co-op before they go home. And many is the time that our staff have stayed late on a Saturday night or a Sunday night, and somebody was driving back to Pierre, Rapid City, Fargo, and they needed to shop," Langley says.

An early-morning fire on January 19th destroyed $100,000 worth of food  at the Co-op’s current store in Sioux Falls. The flames and smoke melted shelving and ruined equipment. The fire also wrecked new checkout systems installed days before.
 
The Co-op has 18 full-time employees and 2,500 members, but anyone can shop at the store. Many of the products sold come from local vendors.

Co-op leaders are posting updates on the group’s Facebook page. That includes where to send donations and details about other fundraisers.

Kealey Bultena grew up in South Dakota, where her grandparents took advantage of the state’s agriculture at nap time, tricking her into car rides to “go see cows.” Rarely did she stay awake long enough to see the livestock, but now she writes stories about the animals – and the legislature and education and much more. Kealey worked in television for four years while attending the University of South Dakota. She started interning with South Dakota Public Broadcasting in September 2010 and accepted a position with television in 2011. Now Kealey is the radio news producer stationed in Sioux Falls. As a multi-media journalist, Kealey prides herself on the diversity of the stories she tells and the impact her work has on people across the state. Kealey is always searching for new ideas. Let her know of a great story! Find her on Facebook and twitter (@KealeySDPB).