Community Food Co-op

Voted Bellingham's best grocery store. Full-service deli, hot bar, salad bar featuring organic, local, and natural foods. Everyone can shop, anyone can join. Co+op, stronger together.

Welcome! Everyone can shop the Community Food Co-op!
360-734-8158|
  • menu bar three linesMENU
    • Shop Online
    • Hours & Locations
      • Community Food Co-op, Downtown Store, 1220 North Forest Street at Holly StreetDowntown Store
        1220 North Forest Street at Holly Street
        Bellingham, Washington
        7 am - 9 pm
        360-734-8158
      • Cordata Co-Op exteriorCordata Store
        315 Westerly Road at Cordata Parkway
        Bellingham, Washington
        7 am - 9 pm
        360-734-8158
    • In Our Stores
      • Celebrating Our Co-op’s 50th Anniversary
      • Community Rooms
      • Customer Input
      • How to Shop
      • Dirty Dozen / Clean 15
      • Service Desk
      • What’s on Sale?
      • Contact Us
    • Departments
      • Bakery
      • Bulk
      • The Co-op Bakery Cafe
      • Dairy & Refrigerated
      • Deli & Deli To Go
      • Floral & Garden
      • Grocery
      • Meat & Seafood
      • Mercantile
      • Produce
      • Specialty Cheese
      • Wellness
      • Wine, Beer, & Spirits
    • About Us
      • Awards
      • Co-op Blog
      • Magazine & E-news
      • Our History
      • Strategic Plan
      • Sustainability at the Co-op
      • Vision, Mission, and Values
      • Contact Us
    • Community Giving
      • Community Shopping Days
      • Donations & Sponsorships
      • Donate at our Registers
      • Farm Fund
      • The Real Food Show
    • Join Us
      • Become a Co-op Member • Join Today!
      • Board of Directors
      • Employment
      • Local Business Partners
      • Sell to the Co-op
    • Recipes
      • Recipes
      • Cooking Videos
  • What’s on Sale?
  • Bakery Online Orders
  • Shop Online
  • Careers
  • Join Today!
  • Cooking Classes
  • Hours and Locations
You are here: Home / HOT OFF THE PRESS / Gratitude for Jim Ashby, Always

Gratitude for Jim Ashby, Always

by Kevin Murphy, Outreach Team

October 2018
jim ashby in nature

Jim Ashby's happy places: surrounded by nature or spreadsheets.

jim ashby at work

It was 1985, year 16 of the Co-op’s approximately 48 year history, and the Co-op board decided to hire a general manager. Prior to this the Co-op had been run by a collective, but the board felt that to survive the Co-op needed to centralize authority and streamline channels of communication. They wanted someone with “real business experience,” and after the interviews they thought they had their man, namely … well, no one can remember his name. He was offered the job but basically never showed up for work, and the board had to settle for its second choice.

Jim Ashby, who last month retired from his job as the Co-op’s general manager, was the Co-op’s first GM.

Other than a 2½ year hiatus (what that was about, again, no one remembers) Jim was at the helm, guiding the Co-op from a store with a staff of about 10 and flat sales to where we are today: more than $33.5 million in annual sales (2017), three locations, and 250 employees.

We’ve weathered the arrival of Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s and have had to deal with every grocery store in town trying to crawl into the Co-op’s niche, as they’ve expanded their selection of organic and locally sourced food.

a knack for staying calm

When I asked Jim about the qualities that have helped him achieve such success and longevity, he immediately cited a knack for staying calm. “I’ve gotten pretty good,” he said, “at sitting quietly and nodding sagely while other people figure stuff out”—though I feel compelled to add that Jim also has a knack for knowing when to break his sage silence in order to advance the discussion.

A sense of humor, coupled with a tolerance for chaos, says Jim, have also been essential attributes.

you have to be able to strike a balance, to make strategic adaptations while still standing up for what you believe

Jim says that balancing idealistic goals with the realities of running a business in a capitalist economy has been one of the most complex and difficult parts of his job. “You have to be able to strike a balance, to make strategic adaptations while still standing up for what you believe.”

Though not everyone agrees with each adaptation—discussions on whether or not to sell meat and alcohol, for example, were very contentious—the Co-op has been able to advance its values and vision in ways ranging from its staunch support of local farmers to its current work on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

When Jim sent an email to Co-op staff announcing that he was retiring, he repeatedly mentioned his luck—his luck to work with us, his luck in getting the job in the first place, his luck in guiding a business that was well-positioned to take advantage of cultural and business trends in a city that was ripe for the Co-op advantage.

I’d say we were very lucky

In terms of lucky breaks for the Co-op, I’d say we were very lucky that the GM the board first decided to hire back in 1985 didn’t work out.

Thanks, Jim, for your years of skillful and compassionate leadership, and your dedication!

Tweet

HOT OFF THE PRESS| THE CO-OP DIFFERENCE general manager| jim ashby| retirement| retires

Categories

  • BAKERY
  • BULK
  • DELI & CATERING
  • EQUITY, DIVERSITY, & INCLUSION
  • FARM FUND
  • FLORAL & GARDEN
  • GROCERY
  • HOLIDAY
  • HOT OFF THE PRESS
  • LOCAL
  • MEAT & SEAFOOD
  • NUTRITION
  • PRODUCE
  • RECIPES
  • SALES
  • SPECIALITY DIET
  • SPECIALTY CHEESE
  • SUSTAINABILITY
  • THE CO-OP DIFFERENCE
  • UNCATEGORIZED
  • WELLNESS
  • WINE, BEER, & SPIRITS
A Co-op employee decorated Mom cakes.

The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

Delight the mom in your life with a few of our favorite products for Mother’s Day.  Mother’s Day Bouquets   Fresh flowers brighten Mother’s Day and indicate that spring is here. Our tulips and field daffodils are grown locally in Mount Vernon. We have tulips in a variety of lovely colored [...]
Savannah of Flynn Farms harvesting greens.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month! Annually celebrated since 1992, AAPI Heritage Month recognizes the cultural contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage to the United States. AAPI is an umbrella term for cultures from the entire Asian continent and the Pacific Islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and [...]

Shop in Bulk and Save

Shopping in bulk is a great way to reduce the carbon-footprint (and the cost) of your grocery haul, but your first foray into the bulk section can be intimidating. We want everyone to feel comfortable and capable in all parts of our store, so we've developed a handy guide to [...]

enews-sign-up-image

get connected and save - click here to sign up for our e-news

DOWNTOWN STORE & DELI • map • 360-734-8158 • 7 am – 9 pm
meat and deli counter: 7 am – 7 pm
made-to-order counter: 7 am – 6 pm
salad/hot bar: 7 am – 6 pm

CORDATA STORE & DELI • map • 360-734-8158 • 7 am – 9 pm
meat and deli counter: 7 am – 7 pm
made-to-order counter: 7 am – 6 pm
salad/hot bar: 7 am – 7 pm

Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok

Machine Readable Files

Copyright © 2023 Community Food Co-op