Starting on Wednesday, June 1, the Daily Market Cooperative will move to a new location off of the Whitman campus, in the hopes of reaching out to the Walla Walla community by expanding the store.

The Co-op’s contract for their current location at 505 East Main Street — a Whitman-owned house, expires at the end of May and has forced The Co-op Board Members to make the decision to move its location in order to keep the store running.

The Co-op hopes to expand the store by increasing bulk inventory, introduce a cooler for fresh produce, and expand its hours by hiring a regular staff. According to Matt Eppelsheimer, president of the Daily Market Cooperative Board, the expiration of the contract was the extra push that the co-op needed to expand and garner a more well-known reputation as a store.

“We have a great opportunity to use another location, and we finally decided to take a risk,” he said. “Produce is something we wanted to carry for awhile, and expanding will allow us to hire a regular staff which will make that more possible.”

Created five years ago by a group of Whitman students, including Eppelsheimer, the Co-op has quickly expanded. Business has particularly grown with the introduction of the Made in Walla Walla boxes, which give subscribers a variety of local food every week. The introduction of the boxes this year has increased the Co-op’s popularity in the Walla Walla community and has increased foot traffic.

According to senior Elizabeth Bragg, one of the Co-op’s volunteer coordinators, the store’s increased foot traffic was the main reason why Whitman asked the Co-op to move.

“Whitman has asked us to move because we can’t reasonably have a grocery store operating out of a house,” she said. “We’re getting too big for the space.”

The Co-op hopes to have the store moved to its new address, at Someone’s in the Kitchen’s former location, 132 West Rose Street, by June 1. The store will be twice the size as its current location, allowing for more room to expand. By introducing more produce and hiring a regular staff, the Co-op also hopes to compete among other grocery stores in Walla Walla, and have a presence in the community.

“I feel like the move will really benefit the Co-op and give us more of a presence in the Walla Walla community,” said first-year Molly Johanson, the Co-op’s other volunteer coordinator.

However, while the move will help the Co-op reach out to the community, the new location’s distance from campus may deter Whitman students from shopping at the Co-op. However, the Co-op remains optimistic that the expansion of produce and hours will encourage students to see the Co-op as an organized grocery store to regularly buy from.

“Students specifically, I feel, will be more receptive to the new location,” Johanson said. “The goal for the move is for it to look more like a grocery store, to bring its identity from less of a disorganized jumble to an idyllic Co-op.”

Rather than seeing the expiration of the contract as a hurdle for the Co-op, the board hopes to use the move to shape the perfect shop –– appealing to both the Walla Walla and Whitman community.

“We’re excited because we’re moving in the direction of the store we’ve always envisioned,” Eppelsheimer said.