Every month, we celebrate a member who embodies the Co-op spirit.
We’re starting this series with a two-for-one!
Member Spotlight: Jim Kotos and Janet Smith
Co-op Member Since: 1977 and 1981
Occupation: Carpenter (Jim) and Maker of Miso Mayo (Janet)
Their love story blossomed in the aisles of the Co-op. Since meeting in 1981, Janet and Jim have built a life together that’s deeply woven into their community, and the Co-op has been there through all of it. Janet, a food entrepreneur behind Miso Mayo, still remembers being introduced to the store by Jim early in their relationship. Decades later, she demos her own product on those same shelves, greeting customers who’ve been buying it for over 30 years. We sat down with Janet and Jim to talk about community, entrepreneurship, and why membership means so much more than a discount at checkout.
I heard you have such a cute story. How were you (Janet) introduced to the Co-op?
Janet: Well, Jim introduced me to the Co-op. He told me to become a member of this grocery store. We met in ‘79.
Jim: Actually, we met in ‘81.
Janet: Okay, so it was ‘81 when I became a member.
Jim: At the time, she had her own apartment, we had separate residences. And you know, where do you get your food? Food became the Co-op, so I said, “oh you got to go to the Co-op. You can buy things in bulk. You see people.” It wasn’t quite as anonymous as going to a regular grocery store.
What is a favorite memory from being a Co-op member that you recall?
Janet: Recently, when I was here, from the demo of Miso Mayo, I like to demo when I can. It was great to see people that I have known for all these years walking through the door and saying “I know you, Janet,” and saying hi. Oh, and also just young people my daughter’s age who look like her and shop like her and think like her, some who have been using Miso Mayo since their parents bought it 30 years ago. And they remember and come up to me and say, I’ve been eating that as a child, and I still buy it here at the Co-op. It’s great to have that full circle from back in the day to the multi-generational support and understanding why the Co-op is so special.
What does it mean to find community here through shopping at the Co-op?
Jim: I find it easy to shop here. To see what’s available, see people at the register I know, the ability to exchange tips or as people what they think is good. “Have you tried this?”
Janet: Ranging from, as a vendor and a member, when I came here to do the demo, it reminds me why I make the product, because the people who respond to it are either like minded or nutrition curious. And for me, that’s a great opportunity to either share or discover. And that’s what the Co-op has always been for me, is that I’m discovering people who are like me or sharing life and food experiences, or discovering that there are things I don’t know and want to find out more about.
As an entrepreneur, how did you find Co-op to be your first account?
Janet: First of all, I was a member and once I was able to actually get on the shelves with my product because I knew this is something that every food entrepreneur has to understand is that it’s discovering what your margins are, and what your systems are and how your supply chain is going to work, and what your shelf like is like, and you have to be supporting (your product) before you get it on the shelf. You have to know that you can get it into the baskets.
What is in your shopping basket when shopping at Co-op?
Janet: We really work the bulk bins here, and the produce, Jim is here. He’s a major pro-Have’a Corn Chips, (they’ve) been a standard in our basket from the get-go.
Jim: I think they’re on the top shelf now. Highly, highly contagious.
Janet: And you have that wonderful meatless Tuesday lasagna (at the hot bar), I love that.
What would you say to someone who is on the fence about being a Co- op member?
Jim: Get to it. What are you waiting for?
I chuckle, Jim doesn’t.
Jim: It’s about that community aspect. It’s (like) following my favorite team. The discounts are great for members, but it’s you know, to talk in a store that you have a part in keeping it alive.
Janet: It’s not even a coffee a month to be a member of a Co-op. And you’re contributing to a system that’s been in place for decades that you can be part of maintaining its vitality.
Jim: It’s ours. The illusion of being a consumer is so different by comparison. You do own part of it. And I’m a stockholder, and we get to vote. Imagine getting to vote at Albertsons or Trader Joe’s? You don’t. You get to know the people in your departments.
Their story is proof on what sets shopping at a Co-op apart from the the other big-box stores: it’s not just about what you buy, it’s about what you build together. As Jim put it, “It’s ours.” So if you’re still on the fence about joining, take a page from Janet and Jim’s book: get to it.
You never know what story you’ll find waiting for you in the aisles.
