Known locally as the grocery store with a soul, La Montañita Food Co-op is making a name for itself with four locations in New Mexico – two in Albuquerque and one each in Gallup and Santa Fe.
The Gallup store is La Montañita’s smallest at just 1,000 square feet, while the largest totals 20,000 square feet in Santa Fe. The co-op’s Albuquerque locations are currently 10,000 square feet each. Later this year, however, one will relocate to a site nearly double in size.
In addition, La Montañita is one of the few co-ops in the country that has its own distribution center, an 11,000-square-foot facility in Albuquerque.
La Montañita attracts a variety of shoppers in a competitive grocery space. As a co-op, however, it offers a different experience than a traditional food store.
Among the many ways the retailer stands out is its focus on supporting the regional food system. La Montañita carries more than 200 local products and buys directly from local and regional producers, reducing the time from harvest to shopping carts.
The co-op carries a wide variety of organic produce, local meats and dairy, natural and organic grocery items, bulk foods and a deli section.
“As we grow, we’ll continue to lean into our unique position and adapt to the needs of our community,” said Lea Quale, marketing and membership director.
Focus on produce
According to James Esqueda, general manager, La Montañita has always been known for having the best produce, with close ties to local farmers as well as its section of exclusive supplements and wellness products.
“Since our co-op’s early days, we have played a significant role in giving small vendors and producers the chance to introduce their products to the market,” he said. “In 2007, we expanded our services by adding a wholesale distribution center.
“The success of procuring regional and local goods for our stores motivated us to invest in further solutions that would contribute to the growth of the local economy.’
He noted that the DC enables the co-op to continue supporting the development of more locally produced food and related products. “This initiative is a major focus for our organization and helps us achieve our cooperative ends, the guiding goals that our members and board of directors empower us to fulfill.”
Unique customer positioning
La Montañita customers believe in the co-op model and choose to shop there because they want to make purchases that align with their personal needs and values. Knowing what customers want to see on the shelves and responding to that is important under this model.
Customers are encouraged to make comments and suggestions at any of the store locations or online. In addition, La Montañita gathers feedback from shoppers to address areas of concern.
“Our customers care about environmental sustainability, supporting healthy agriculture practices and the humane treatment of animals. We make product assortment decisions with those focus areas at the forefront,” Quale said.
[RELATED: Led by Lone Star State, Southwestern U.S. Ripe For Grocers]
Adapting to workforce needs
With fewer than 300 employees, it can be a constant juggle to keep stores fully staffed, ensure the workforce is well trained and deliver top-level customer service.
Esqueda said La Montañita strives to create a workplace based on dignity, opportunity and fair compensation.
“We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and walks of life,” he said. “Our co-op is not your typical grocery store – it is a vibrant community of collaborators united by a shared interest in accessing local and regional products, as well as a variety of natural and organic options available from larger retailers. What sets us apart is the unique culture within our organization.
“The food retail sector is constantly evolving, and we’re adaptable. Like many businesses, we face the challenge of being responsive to our consumers’ needs as the retail landscape shifts further into the digital age.
“Staying calm and realistic is a crucial part of our management style at La Montañita. We define success as ‘being consistently good, rather than occasionally great.’”
Small but mighty
While not the largest grocer, La Montañita prioritizes maximizing operational efficiencies in everything it does. The co-op recently implemented a perpetual inventory system that has made a difference in how the business runs.
According to Esqueda, the co-op has been able to improve in-store experiences for customers, lower its total operating costs and increase sales.
“The ability to track inventory ‘live’ is a crucial approach for food retailers such as us,” he said. “Perpetual inventory has enhanced customer satisfaction at our co-op by ensuring our shelves are consistently well-stocked. This allows us to provide customers a variety of options, enabling them to choose products that fit their budgets, whether they want to trade up or trade down.
Traditionally, co-ops have relied on manual procedures for inventory, managing stock and recording losses. But after extensive internal discussions, Esqueda said La Montañita discovered that its point-of-sale system already offered many of the solutions.
“We are always looking for better ways to keep fresh products on our shelves while minimizing food waste. Perpetual inventory has allowed us to modernize our co-op, bringing it into the 21st century of retailing,” he said.
New store, new partnership
One of La Montañita’s Albuquerque stores is set to move into an 18,000-square-foot space.
In a departure from its typical approach of renovating a building, this will be La Montañita’s first ground-up construction and a significant milestone – the first food co-op in the nation located on tribal land. The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center invited the co-op to be part of the Avanyu Plaza development.
“We are thrilled to partner with the IPCC to bring our food co-op to the Avanyu campus,” Esqueda said. “This collaboration has been a dream come true and marks a significant milestone for both organizations as we share many of the same principles and values.”
He added that the expanded retail space will allow the co-op to introduce a new beer, wine and spirits department, as well as enhance its curbside pickup program.
“This location will also increase the indoor and outdoor seating, giving our community space to enjoy with friends and family,” he said.
“Opening a new store with direct access off the highway and less than a mile from our current Rio Grande location presents a great opportunity to grow our membership while remaining connected to the community we’ve been serving.”
Since the co-op announced the project, there have been a few unexpected snags. Still, Esqueda is confident everything is on track to open in the coming months.
“Like many projects initiated after the pandemic, we faced challenges such as supply chain issues and equipment delays,” he said. “However, I am pleased to note our doors will open later this year.”
All about community
Each month, La Montañita partners with an organization in the state that positively impacts the community in ways that align with its mission. Through its recent Round up for Change program, for example, shoppers donated more than $87,000 to nonprofits by rounding up their purchases at checkout.
The program’s impact has helped many of these support organizations keep their doors open. Some of the recipients included Feed New Mexico Kids, Roots Animal Sanctuary and the National Indian Council on Aging.
In addition, La Montañita’s distribution center worked with several New Mexico food banks, providing the equivalent of more than 100,000 meals.
Add Comment