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Bloomington wasn't exactly a hotbed of counter-cultural unrest in the '70s, but we did have a few good alternative moments. Mostly today I remember them as they affected the local food scene. There was the Nutcracker Sweet, in Dunkirk Square (wonderful fresh strawberry lemonade!). Just behind it was a hobbit-themed restaurant (called Middle Earth?) serving Tolkienesque culinary items like Elfin Fries. And, oh, how I still miss the quirky but good Tao restaurant and Rudi's Bakery! Changes in the culture and in the way we eat have rendered many of these old friends passé (few restaurants cook with as much whole milk, butter, eggs, and cheese as the Tao did, for instance). One place, however, not only kept pace with changing times, it has led them. I'm thinking, of course, of Bloomingfoods. From the
funky little downtown storefront that opened its doors in 1976 and is still
there, at 419 E. Kirkwood, Bloomingfoods has thrived and expanded to include a
much larger eastside store (at 3220 E. Third St.) and two restaurants, the
Encore Café and the Theater Café. The stores haven't lost their focus on organically grown, healthful foods but, as the rapid growth of national natural foods store chains indicates, what was once a small niche market inhabited by the flower-power tofu and granola crowd has gone mainstream. Bloomingfoods is not just for hippies anymore. Bloomingfoods General Manager, George Huntington, agrees. Some Bloomingfoods customers are traditional — in it for the commitment to coop principles and economic democracy — but increasingly others come just for the great tasting food. Some are liberal, some are conservative — a reflection of Bloomington itself. Huntington says no matter what people's political persuasions may be, they can agree on the importance of taste and community and they can find a home at Bloomingfoods. I guess you can prove it by me. After years of shopping at Bloomingfoods once in a while, but feeling vaguely intimidated by an ownership structure and culture I didn't really understand, I have found myself going there often — looking for good fresh local food that hasn't spent days on a cold dark truck on its way to my table. In the process I ended up signing a membership form — something I had kind of, sort of, meant to do for years. I worried that it would commit me to wearing my old bell bottoms, sandals, and gauzy embroidered Indian shirts for the rest of my life, but all it did was save me some money and make me feel nice in a community-spirited kind of way. No cults, no political commitments, just friendly folks selling me good fresh food in a small store setting that means I don't have to hike for miles just to do my shopping. So let me share what I found out. Membership and education manager Jeff Brown explained that Bloomingfoods is a member-owned cooperative grocery (one of 400 in the nation, and five in Indiana) that is owned and run by its nearly 4,000 members. Although you definitely don't need to join to shop there, anyone can become a member by buying a refundable $90 share in the business. That share gets members a five percent discount one day a week, and everyday member specials, among other benefits. Besides selling food and running restaurants, Bloomingfoods makes a deliberate effort to participate in community affairs, often in partnership with other community groups — sponsoring talks and classes and activities on a wide range of food and nutrition related subjects. The democratic and communitarian nature of the coop movement is a primary attraction for many members, but much of the recent explosive growth in the healthful, organic foods industry nationally is driven by health concerns, news reports highlighting the risks inherent in the conventional food supply, and the fact that healthful food now tastes much better than it did in the old nutloaf-with-mushroom-gravy days. In fact, it tastes great. Bloomingfoods is the go-to place for the bounty of fresh, organic foods that our local farmers and artisans produce so well. They carry locally made or produced fruit butters and preserves, local organic eggs and dairy products, honey, maple syrup, breads, bagels, wines, beers, cheeses, and, most of the time, frozen poultry, pork, elk, lamb, goat and buffalo — all from local farms. These foods are fantastic — not just made close to home but cultivated and produced by people working on a small scale, with care and attention for the job they do. As Huntington showed me around the store, pointing out
local products, he noted that 95 percent of the produce sold there is organic
(color-coded signs tell customers which is which). They try to be sure there
are organic choices among most packaged and canned food items as well. The
entire back of the eastside store is lined with bulk food bins with everything
from wheat berries to dried fruits to herbs. Bloomingfoods also has an incredible selection of specialty foods — from aged balsamic vinegars, to truffle butter, to Italian tuna packed in olive oil. And from the kitchen come fresh baked goods, deli sandwiches, salads and hot dishes, and a gorgeous salad bar (one of the few left in town) that again has color-coded labels on the organic ingredients. Much of the food is produced on site, but the 2002 acquisition of the Encore Café gives them much more space to cook, and to run their extensive catering business. The Encore and Theater cafés are gradually moving in the organic/local food direction that Bloomingfoods has pioneered, though with care for the preferences of their established customer bases. Market manager Ellen Michel says the aim is to "offer fresh food in comfortable spaces that foster conversation, interaction and good times." Unlike businesses that have come and gone over the years, Bloomingfoods looks like it will be here for the long haul, offering benefits that the big chain stores just cannot manage but also demonstrating a remarkable willingness to be flexible and to grow. Like so many of us since the 1970s, Bloomingfoods has come a long way, baby, but the best may well lie yet ahead. Christine would love to hear from you about food. Contact her at
barbour@heraldt.com. Next week, Food Fare partner Jennifer Piurek will tell us
about the new Turkish place in Bloomington, Turkuaz Café. |
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