Wheatsville Co-op Austin, TX

[Dan gillotte <dangillotte AT gmail.com>]

Hello Wheatsville friends!

As crazy as it is, we are nearly DONE with January 2010! Wow. Weren't we JUST partying like it was 2009?

We're gearing up for two February events: The Super Bowl and Valentine's Day, so stay tuned for our football and cupid-ish offerings.

Scroll down for:
We heart feedback
Deli is bringing the deliciousness
From Cheese island and the meat department
By Owner request!
News from Grocery, Beer, Refrigerated and Frozen
Staff Top Ten
Rush Hour Recipes!

You love us, you really do!
We are getting SO much positive feedback these days, it's almost overwhelming (but we love it!) People blog about us, write glowing Yelp reviews and even tell us in person. Every once in a while, i like to share a sampling of the good cheer:

A lady came to the Hospitality Desk today to make a return, and she let me know that everybody at WV is soooo nice to her and that she considers us her oasis.  She comes here to get away from the world when she’s feeling down or stressed. 
 
Another lady who used to live here came in and was happy to find out that we still had her ownership account on file.  She hadn’t been here in five years and said that seeing the renovated store was making her have the urge to move back to Austin.

From a shopper:
"The atmosphere of the store was extremely friendly and welcoming. There were several people greeting each other like family. I think it would be a great place to shop regularly and to work."

From Yelp:
"i went to wheatsville this weekend, for the first time since the
massive redesign/revamp, and boy was i impressed.  i always loved the
charm of wheatsville when in college, and years later, driving  by such
a great example of grocery store done right brings a smile to my face."
"One of Austin's greatest and established local businesses.  The place
makes you feel at home.  You know you are shopping at a place that
rewards its staff and customers and more importantly keeps the revenue
local.  Keep up wonderful job!"
"I've been a regular shopper since 1995. The renovations are wonderful.
Whole foods shopping without the fuss of Whole Foods Corporation."
Thank you so much for all the love and support!  

From the Deli
Ready for the game? We are! Get your Superbowl Sunday snacks right here at your Wheatsville Co-op Deli! (FYI- for the non-sportsy... the Super Bowl is a football game and is
played on Sunday Feb. 7th this year! Some people get VERY excited about it. You may find yourself invited to a
party. Be prepared.)

We’ll have all sorts of tasty treats for your game day parties! 
Mini-trays of our top-notch Popcorn Tofu will be in abundance, as will our small Crudite Trays brimming with a tasty assortment of fresh veggies! Grab a large container of Cashew Tamari Dressing for dippin’ and you’ll be ready to go!
We’ll also be featuring a slew of different salsas for your chip-dippin’, including our owner favorites, Black Bean & Corn Salsa and Sweet Mango Fire! We’ll also have salsa snackpacks on hand so you don’t have to choose – 4 salsas in one Grab’n’Go container will satisfy all your football fiends! Grab some Vegan Queso, or house-made Black Olive or spicy Green Chile Hummus and you’re set!
To add to your party spread, we’ll have our classic Hot Wings made with local, all-natural Buddy’s Chicken, plus our beloved Lil’ Cheddar Meatloaf Muffins made with Niman Ranch beef! Add some bacon-studded Baked Potato Salad to your table and your carnivores will delight!
 
From Greg, Captain of Cheese Island
The Super Bowl is two weeks away, but I just want to put a few Ideas out there that I feel will make your Super Bowl   party a little more Super. We will have already prepared cheese trays for $9.99 for your snacking pleasure. 
Tired of queso that is not made of queso? I have all the cheese you need to make Super Bowl worthy  Chile con Queso and Queso Flameado.  Look for recipes in next week’s  e-mails. I also have Sliced cheeses for those Super Submarine Dagwood sandwiches.  If pizza is more your style I have an Italian Four cheese shred, Fresh Mozzarella, a fabulous locally made Fresh Mozzarella, Feta and a nice selection of bleu cheeses to top your pizzas.
 
From Bryan, the Butcher
Check out this month’s specials…
Niman Ranch Beef Top Sirloin
Full Cut Sirloin Steaks $8.49 lb reg. $8.99 lb
Ambassador Cut $8.99 lb reg. $9.49 lb
 
Organic Prairie ground meat chubs: 
1lb Beef packs $5.69 reg. $6.99
 1lb Turkey packs $5.49 reg. $6.29
 1 lb pork breakfast sausage $5.49 reg. $5.99
 
Great new products to look for:
 Applegate Greatest Little Smoky Cocktail Frank (YEP. that really is the name...)—12oz pack $8.99. Great snacking item, and are great slow cooked in BBQ sauce of your choice. Sauté links for 5 minutes, add water and BBQ sauce cook at 200 degrees for 1 hour for tasty tender treats.
 
Louisiana partially cooked crawfish tails $19.99 lb. After Katrina most of the Louisiana seafood industry found its self in a dire situation--limited fishing boats, decimated fish, and oyster, shrimp, and crawfish levels. This put the Louisiana seafood industry in a make or break situation. Recovery has been slow and it’s still not clear if it will completely bounce back. Purchasing these little crawdaddy tails is a vote to keep a long tradition of gulf coast seafood available for future generations to enjoy. It’s also a sustainable resource like everything else we source. It can be found on the best choice list form seafood watch list. (And, for all you Saints fans. WHAT else are you gonna eat? Who dat gonna eat some Crawfish tails?)
 
Check us out for your Superbowl snacking needs. We’ll be stocking goodies like these--- Buddy’s chicken wings, trimmed and ready for the grill. Applegate little smokeys cocktail sausages. Niman ranch smoked pulled pork, sausage, & salamis. Lots of other tasty treats.
 
By Owner Request—Niki Nash WV Merchandising Manager
 
This week’s customer request focus is on Eden Foods Organic Canned Tomatoes. Eden Tomatoes are organically grown on a third generation family farm in the Thames River Delta of southern Ontario, Canada. They are always ripened on the vine, then taken immediately after harvesting to their processor just 45 miles away, where they are cleaned, uniformly small cut (referred to as fancy cut), and cooked within hours of harvest to capture their garden fresh flavor. Look for Eden Tomatoes at Wheatsville in the canned foods section, we have whole, diced and crushed (as well as Eden Pizza & Pasta Sauce). For more information- http://www.edenfoods.com/faqs/view.php?categories_id=6
 
 In The Grocery Aisle
 
Texas Tea:
Texas Tea has sprung up at Wheatsville. This is an exciting new ready-to-drink iced tea that is made locally with local ingredients. Flavors include Austin’s Own Good Flow Honey, Sugarland Sweet, Fredericksburg Peach,  Poteet Strawberry and Dove Creek Unsweetened. These teas are all made with the real ingredients from these Texas locations. You can tell the flavor is genuine from the first sip. At $1.49 a bottle it’s a great every day drink. Justin Merrifield, Grocery Buyer

This is the last weekend for January Co-op Advantage Specials. Come on in and stock up! Fear not, though, new specials will appear on MONDAY! Download the sales flyer here:  http://wheatsville.coop/CAP%20flyers/SW0110.pdf

Last chance for Tofurky Feasts!
We are blowing out the last of the Tofurky Roasts this week for the amazing price of $5.69! Stock up to keep yourself sated until next November! (While supplies last!)

Valentine's Day Teaser
Look for super sweet organic fair trade chocolates in all your favorite flavors including some delicious vegan truffles and caramels in tree free boxes made by a women's collective in Thailand! Whoah! We'll have a lot more about Valentine's treat action in our next two weekly upates.

Beer News!
Spaten Premium, Optimator and Franziskaner weiss beer 12 packs  are on sale for only $12.99 regularly $14.99! Spaten Premium Lager is golden in color with a well-balanced hop-flavor. The full rounded body is a superb balance between hops and a malty sweetness. Spaten Optimator is The classic German dark beer, bottom fermented 'Doppel Bock'. Full bodied with a deep dark color and rich roasted malt flavor, this beer is strong enough to keep you warm inside when it is cold outside. Franziskaner Weiss Beer is a top-fermentation beer noted for its agreeable carbonation levels and zesty wheat flavor. Franziskaner weiss beers is brewed in strict adherence to the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516. Bring one of these to the Super bowl party and you may hear cheers!

New in the Dairy Cooler - Kala’s Kuisine Almondaise
What is Vegan, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Local and Tastes great on Everything? Kala’s Kuisine Almondaise of course! This Tasty Blend of Almonds and Spices comes in two Delicious Flavors: Original and Chipotle! Whether you’re looking for the Perfect Sandwich Condiment or something to substitute that heavy Hollandaise (try the Chipotle!) Kala’s Almondaise could be the Creamy, Flavorful Spread you’ve been dreaming of!!


Staff Top Ten Picks!
Check out our “Staff Top Ten Picks” posted throughout the store, we work here and shop here!!!
Look for the green signs in front of the products. 

From Christine Stout’s Daughter, Jade as translated by her mommy.
1. Organic Bananas – no need for an explanation, possible the most perfect snack!
2. Veggie Booty – I know exactly where this is here at Wheatsville, I don’t need any help from mom to make sure it gets into the cart.
3. Organic Apple Juice- nothing better!
4. Kamunt Puffs – delicious healthy snack
5. Sweet Potatoes – YUM!
6. Cascadian Farms Frozen Edamane – perfect in my mac & cheese
7. Quinoa – super yummie with everything – veggies, nuts, & parmesan cheese is my favorite
8. Cabot Cheddar Cheese – lots of flavor, great with apples & mom says it’s a co-op too!
9. Natural Babycare Diapers:  If the cloth diapers are in the wash, this is the next best thing for my bottom.  So soft, and bio-degradable!
10. Burt’s Bee’s Tear Free Baby Shampoo:  Makes my hair super soft, and it smells so o o GOOD!
 
 
From Ruby Truesdell, Health Team clerk
1. Organic India Tulsi Tea- Known also as Holy Basil, it is stress relieving and mood elevating.
2. Pre de Provence soaps- Almost everlasting triple milled French soaps made from pure vegetable oils.
3. Lucky Layla's Drinkable Yogurt- Texas raised Guernsey and Jersey cows provide the rich milk used to make this lightly sweetened yogurt.
4. Local Cheese! A most excellent collection. Pure Luck chevre has my heart.
5. Texas Olive Ranch Olive Oils- The perfect vinaigrette needs only quality vinegar, good French Dijon mustard, salt & pepper, and this oil.
6. Himalayan Crystal Salt- Salt from a 250 million year old sea containing 84 trace minerals and elements in colloidal form.
7. Concorde Pears- This juicy, dense, and floral variety is outstanding raw, baked, poached or preserved. Best when firm.
8. Chocolove Chocolates- Organic 73% Dark, and Chilies & Cherries in 55% Dark Chocolate. 
9. Richardson Farms pork products- Pastured local pork. The bone-in chops make a truly special dinner.
10. Eco Towel- A durable alternative to paper towels that with occasional machine washing can last for months.
 
Rush Hour Recipes

Every month we'll feature a new entree recipe (featuring a mix of vegetarian, non-vegetarian and vegan options) at the Deli Counter and on our website. We will keep an archive of recipe cards at the Hospitality Desk as well, so that you can pick one up and use it for your dinner shopping. You can even use these recipes to build your own recipe book. These recipes come from various co-ops all over the States, which is pretty cool. Plus they have been kitchen tested so you trust them to turn out right. Increase your kitchen repertoire with these quick, easy, fresh, entree recipes.  Follow this link to see the Rush Hour Recipes:  http://wheatsville.coop/recipeindex.html
 
 I hope you have a super great week!

Dan Gillotte
Wheatsville GM and e-mail guy