What makes Wedge Catering so special? Artisan-baked bread, fresh produce, humanely raised meats and quality grains, together in a menu made with care and conscience. Our new fall/winter menu is bursting with seasonal flavors like Roasted Cauliflower & Radicchio Salad, Turkey Apple Cheddar Sandwich and wholesome new bowls like the Mayan Grain Bowl loaded with organic quinoa, kale, organic black beans, roasted sweet potatoes, and more. Forget about soggy pizza and sub sandwiches, our selections are sure to be favorites at your next workplace event, meeting, or special occasion.

Plus, holiday parties are just around the corner. Our menu offers flavor forward hors d’oeuvres such as Moroccan meatball skewers, sweet potato & black bean sliders, and cranberry wild rice arancini. And, we offer a celebratory bar menu featuring sustainable and biodynamic wines and local beers such as Bauhaus, Surly and Indeed.

Start planning your event by visiting wedge.coop/catering, emailing catering@wedge.coop or calling 612-465-8840.

Our Change Matters program makes it easy for shoppers to help local community-enrichment organizations by making small-change donations at the registers that add up to meaningful contributions. Organizations interested in being recipients of our Change Matters program can find the proposal guidelines posted on our websites in early October.

Proposals to participate in the 2018 calendar year, at both the Wedge and Linden Hills, are due online by Oct. 20, 2017.  View application HERE. Contact outreach@wedge.coop with questions.

The Linden Hills Holiday Market will return to Sunnyside Gardens, just across the parking lot from Linden Hills Co-op! The market is open on Sundays, Nov. 5 through Dec. 17, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The market features local vendors, seasonal produce, artisan crafts, music, hot food and beverages and more.

Thanks to consolidation, we have lowered prices on over 2,000 products! Look for the New Lower Price signs on our shelves to find lower prices on everyday essentials like eggs, Holyland Hummus, Noosa and Chobani yogurts, frozen burritos, Garden of Life products, and more!

CPM Development is building a six-story apartment complex that will house 75 studio and one-bedroom units on the south side of Mortimer’s Bar. It will have its own parking garage enclosed in the ground floor and should not affect parking or traffic flow at the Wedge. It is scheduled to be completed by late summer 2018.

After months of planning and preparation, Wirth Co-op has officially opened in North Minneapolis at 1835 Penn Ave. N.

Linden Hills Co-op owners and shoppers raised over $2,000 to support this startup co-op in February of 2016. Stop by and welcome Wirth to the co-op community!

Going into fiscal year 2017 (July 2016 – June 2017), we knew it was going to be a challenging year financially. With significant competition, road construction, building construction, and the continued growth of our commissary, we had a significant financial loss at the Wedge Co-op. At Linden Hills Co-op, while there was a slight operating profit, we had some one-time expense write-offs so, ultimately, we did not have a profit at that location either. As a result, the co-op will not be issuing a patronage refund for the year.

As we look ahead, there is reason for optimism. The co-op continues to have a strong balance sheet, and we have seen steady improvement in our operations. At the Wedge, while we suffered a large financial loss in the first half of fiscal year 2017, we were profitable in the second half of the year after the remodel was completed. Linden Hills also saw good business momentum in the second half of the year. This momentum has continued into the first two and half months of the new fiscal year since the completion of the consolidation. We have been able to lower prices on over 2,000 items at our retail sites and have grown over 8 percent for our total Twin Cities Co-op Partners business. We have invested in the business to make the co-op much better able to withstand the increasing competition and have improved our ability to be a robust part of the community for years to come. This is our foundation for long-term sustainability.

While we know some owners will be disappointed that there is no patronage refund this year, we continue to provide benefits for owners in other ways. Over the year, we provided owners at the two co-ops with over $550,000 in monthly owner discounts. Additionally we distributed almost $200,000 in discounts through our Co-op Affordability Project — the low-income food-access program. We completed our most robust year of event and vendor programming at both co-ops. Also, we have added a number of new products and services at both the Wedge Lyndale and Linden Hills stores to provide you with a better shopping experience (and more energy-efficient buildings) for years into the future.

We truly appreciate your support of the co-op, and we’re hopeful that we will be able to issue a patronage refund next year.

Since deciding to sell the Gardens of Eagan (GOE) farm in 2015, the Wedge has been leasing the land to organic farmers. We will be closing on the sale of eleven acres of the farm, including the buildings and greenhouses, early this fall. The buyers are young farmers who grow organic produce for Twin Cities area restaurants. The remaining land will continue to be leased to organic farmers until it is sold. Through Dakota County and the Farmland and Natural Areas Protection Program, 116 acres of GOE will forever remain farmland and free of development, regardless of who purchases it from the Wedge.

Closing Gardens of Eagan has allowed us to expand our reach to more local farms. The Wedge and Co-op Partners Warehouse are now purchasing 25%–30% more produce from larger local organic farms like Featherstone and Driftless Organics. We’ve also begun to source more from smaller farms such as Seed to Seed Farm and Sin Fronteras. According to Jack Hedin of Featherstone, “CPW is one of the greatest things that Midwest farmers have going for us. It’s truly a farmer-centric, cooperative warehouse that co-op owners should be proud to be a part of.” Continue to look for updates in our newsletter as the sale of GOE progresses.

Join us for our first annual meeting as a consolidated co-op! We’ll begin the evening with a business meeting and then transition into a fun local fest featuring some of our favorite vendors. Enjoy samples from Gerhard’s Brats, Dumpling & Strand Noodles, Sweet Science Ice Cream, and more!

The meeting is on Monday, Oct. 23 at 6 p.m. at St. Mary’s Calhoun Event Center, 3450 Irving Ave. S. To register, stop by the Customer Service desk or call the Wedge Co-op (612.871.3993) or Linden Hills Coop (612.922.1159).

Limit of two adults per owner number, and children are welcome. There is no fee for attending the annual meeting.

We’re partnering with the Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association (LHENA) to offer a compost drop-off site for those who don’t have access to organic recycling at their homes. Since Aug. 1, 158 people have signed up to drop their compost at the Wedge! LHENA has recently expanded their drop-off program and will be installing even more bins in the south parking lot for community use. In order to use them, you must register at www.thewedge.org/organics. You’ll immediately receive a code for the locked bins. Compost is picked up once a week and taken to the city’s commercial site. Happy composting!

Store councils were introduced as a part of the consolidation to maintain each store’s connection to its neighborhoods and community. The core function of the store councils is to enhance communication and cooperation between the governing board and owners and to deepen the co-ops’ commitment to the greater communities they serve. Store council members will work closely with the ownership committee and marketing team to connect with their surrounding neighborhoods, to promote familiarity with the co-op, to listen and learn about community needs, and to encourage new and diverse shoppers and membership. There will be two store councils — one for Linden Hills Co-op and one for the Wedge/Wedge Table. Each store council will have 5 members that serve up to 3 year terms. The Linden Hills store council has 3 seats filled by prior board members. As written in the consolidation agreement, previous board members were given priority to fill their respective store council seats if they chose to do so.

Interested owners should email outreach@wedge.coop to receive an application. Applications are due Oct. 25.

The Wedge Table launched a new menu! Try some new savory favorites, always made from scratch with the highest quality ingredients. Here are a few faves!

RAINBOW VEGGIE NOODLES BOWL: Roasted golden beets, red beets, sweet potato and daikon radish veggie noodles; spring greens; roasted hazelnuts and tahini lemon dressing

ALOHA BOWL: Cauliflower rice, avocado, sprouts, roasted oyster mushrooms, edamame, furikake, pickled onion, ponzu dressing

TRIPLE CROWN BBQ BEEF SANDWICH: Shredded local grass-fed beef, Triple Crown BBQ sauce, coleslaw and pickled jalapeños on a toasted Wedge Bun

View the full menu HERE.

There has been SO much love in the Wedge and Linden Hills marketing department this year! Three weddings and three babies all within six months!