By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – They were selling local and organic foods before it became cool.

Now one of Bloomington’s oldest locally owned grocers is adapting to a rapidly-changing marketplace as it marks 40 years in business. Common Ground opened in downtown Bloomington in 1977 and hasn’t changed much since.

“It still has that very familiar, nostalgic feel,” owner Lua Travis said. “It has the Common Ground smell that everyone likes.”

Travis, a lifelong customer bought the store a year ago after working there for eight years, but her history at Common Ground goes back much further.

“I can remember my parents bringing me here when I was very young and they always shopped here, and then when I was old enough to make my own decisions, I always like to shop here.”

Travis said she’s grateful that there’s such strong demand for such produce now.

“I do think it’s a great thing that these local items and organic products are more accessible to a greater number of people,” Travis said.

But she added that poses additional challenges as two other groceries marketing locally grown produce, Green Top Grocery and Fresh Thyme Farmers Market, has opened in the Twin Cities in the past year.

Colleen Connelly, a clerk at the store who handles its marketing and social media, said Common Ground’s staying power is in its customer service.

“We are a small store and we know our customers and taking that time for that one-on-one talk,” Connelly said. “We’ve been doing it for 40 years, before it was ‘cool’ or ‘hipster’ to buy local products or organic products.”

Common Ground is hosting an anniversary celebration on Saturday with special sales, games, music and more. The store known for its freshly made hummus, will make 40 pounds of hummus for the celebration.

Travis joked she has been called the “Hummus Queen of Bloomington-Normal.’ The store makes hummus several days a week based on her recipes.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].