2025 marked our 10th Anniversary! The Durham Co-op Market opened for business in March of 2015, and it has been a rewarding five years of serving the public as Durham’s community-owned grocery store. Like most cooperatives, the Durham Co-op began as an idea and became real through a lot of work and the support of our community.
Reaching this milestone seemed like an opportune time to document the Co-op’s history. Throughout an unprecedented year, we’ve welcomed the opportunity to reflect on the positive impact the Co-op brings to Durham through community, fun, good food, and more.
Our Story: Creating a New Kind of Neighborhood Co-op
The Durham Co-op Market was founded in 2007 and opened its doors on West Chapel Hill St. in March 2015, with the mission of creating a neighborhood co-op grocery store where Everyone is Welcome.
But the journey to where we are now started long before 2007, and it’s not just the story of the Durham Co-op Market. It’s a uniquely Durham story that spans several decades of our city’s history and the larger, national “co-op movement.” It is a story of victories and losses about what it means (and doesn’t mean) to create an inclusive co-op grocery store that meets the needs of a diverse community. It’s a story that deserves to be told in many voices, by our community who has been with us every step of the way.