By Patrick Baron

BLOOMINGTON – A local cooperative grocery that opened its doors half a year ago recently passed a benchmark in revenue.

Green Top Grocery in Bloomington has passed the $1 million mark in sales. General Manager Michael Pennington explained a chunk of that is thanks to the products that local farmers provide to Green Top.

“Typically you see about two percent of revenue coming from sales of locally produced goods, and at Green Top we’re looking at 27 percent of our revenues coming from local products,” Pennington said.

Pennington said the strong numbers in locally-produced goods indicate the support Bloomington-Normal shows farmers in the area. Green Top initially worked with 33 local farms, but that number has since doubled to 66 farms.

Green Top marketing manager Rainie Themer also discussed the important role the 1,683 owners of Green Top have. She explained the owners can provide input in how the business is run – from choosing the store’s location and what goods are being sold to the price of the goods.

“We have actually recently taken a lot of feedback from them and we have heard that they’d like to see prices get lowered,” said Themer.

Themer said following responses of the owners, Green Top reduced prices on nearly 500 items.

Pennington said the next step for Green Top Grocery is to fill more space within the store and expand the programs and classes it offers.

Patrick Baron can be reached at [email protected].