Weavers Way Co-op - Mt. Airy — Local services in Philadelphia

As a member, I know that Weavers Way is a job creator employing hundreds of staff at four main grocery store locations, a warehouse, two health and beauty/pet store shops, two farms within city limits growing food for a CSA and for sale in our stores, and a mercantile. One store has six apartments over it, another store has four EV charging stations, another is old and cramped (and doesn't have a parking lot) yet each time we expand at another location to ease crowding at the first location, it gets crowded again.

It's economic democracy at work, for each time a sale is made, more of that wealth is kept in our community, paying local employees, paying local vendors, contributing to the local tax base, paying interest to members who've loaned money for our expansions, sharing net profit with members (when there's a profit to share) being a pillar helping to hold up the community.

The mutual needs of our members is met with the goods and services Weavers Way provides and the quality is backed by the co-op. I enjoy being a member and by shopping for my needs at the stores feel the warmth of community but know it can be a little overwhelming for non-members unfamiliar with cooperative enterprises, know that you are welcome to shop here.

Mt, Airy is the quirkiest location and in about 50 years it's grown from a church basement buying club to four bonafide year-round food markets (some with parking lots), 12,000 household members, tens of millions in annual sales, and a reputation for being good at business.

It's a legacy of Jules Timmerman in the 1970s who got people in the neighborhood to buy-in to starting a food buying club that's grown slowly these...

Walked in on President's Day with my ten year old daughter, and an employee by the door was loudly discussing with another employee that there were too many children, they should be in school, learning something, but they won't be learning anything there because of the state of education. I was standing with my basket, trying to shop, while this man kept rudely talking about children in the store and how horrible schools are. All within ear shot of my daughter, and I'm a teacher in Philly schools. I eventually said he was being rude and unwelcoming, and put down my basket to leave. I told a manager about the behavior, and the employee argued with and cut me off the entire time, justifying why it was ok. I'm sorry, are kids not welcomed at Weaver's Way? Is bringing them in to shop on their day off a problem? No children were misbehaving. I'm a paying member who has cancelled my membership, I drive out of my way to shop here and spend my meager teacher salary from my apparently crappy, meaningless job, buying sometimes overpriced items to support a "community grocery store" that, let's face it, is in a rich, majority white community. This is a place for rich white people to pat themselves on the back with their wallet, and as a teacher, my wallet isn't thick enough for that! Anti-children is anti-community. What a privilege to shop here, one I won't be engaging in anymore. If I ever enter another WW, it'll be Germantown, but sadly, after this experience, everyone was pretty pleasant at the Acme within walking distance...

Lots to like abt the store, and some problems too. Locally owned co-op, better wages for staff than most groceries and member-owners have option of workshifts to get further discounts. Lots of local, gourmet, fair trade items, and staple and bulk foods too. Pet foods, personal care items, too. Its more expensive than a commercial grocery; that reflects both the 'gourmet' items and that higher wages cost more. There are rotating sales from the co-op network that WW is part of. There's additional discounts if you sign up for their Food for All program and show participation in Medicaid or SNAP. They deliver for a small fee, too.

It's so nice that I wish there were a couple more improvements. The stores are packed and narrow aisled. One 1st flr entrance is technically wheelchair accessible, but the layout of the store makes navigating hard to impossible with a wheelchair, crutches, or even a shopping cart. No access to 2nd flr bulk items, and same issues for 2nd pet food store. There is staff available to help with shopping, and they'll do that! But its pretty ltd if you wanna see stuff yourself. Also, all the delicious smells can be a minefield if fragrances are an allergy for you. They are working in a residential neighborhood, so changing the space issues, etc. is not like putting in a big shopping center, but I hope something can be done in future to improve access.

One more note in the long review: the management is anti-union, which also seems antithetical to being a co-op....but membership/staff has not...