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Hanover Store

“Our Vision is a Well-Nourished Community Cultivated Through Cooperation.”

Old photo that shows more about where we first started
Hanover Store

Moving On

But as the Co-op grew, its downtown location became cramped, and it was plagued by the perennial Hanover problem: parking. In 1962, the Board of Directors of the 2,000-member Co-op authorized purchase of the Hanover Co-op Food Store’s present site. In 1963, the Co-op moved into its new quarters at 45 South Park Street.

History of the Co-op Food Stores

In January of 1936, 17 Hanover, New Hampshire, and Norwich, Vermont, residents formed the Hanover Consumer’s Club—bringing the cooperative movement to the Upper Valley.

Initially, members of the fledgling co-op pooled orders for potatoes, oranges, and maple syrup and arranged for discounts of gasoline and fuel oil with local suppliers. A year later, Co-op members incorporated as the Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society and opened a small retail store in a basement on Hanover’s Main Street. Annual sales that year reached $11,404.

white river
Old photo that shows more about where we first started
Women wearing apron standing in front of a cash register
Old photo that shows more about where we first started
Hanover Store

Moving On

But as the Co-op grew, its downtown location became cramped, and it was plagued by the perennial Hanover problem: parking. In 1962, the Board of Directors of the 2,000-member Co-op authorized purchase of the Hanover Co-op Food Store’s present site. In 1963, the Co-op moved into its new quarters at 45 South Park Street.

Within a few years, the Co-op moved to the site now occupied by the Dartmouth Bookstore and opened Hanover’s first self-service grocery store. Here, the Co-op grew and prospered for 20 years, enjoying steady increases in membership and sales. This story is vividly told by founding members of the Co-op in the video “Hand in Hand: A History of the Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society,”

white river

Moving On

But as the Co-op grew, its downtown location became cramped, and it was plagued by the perennial Hanover problem: parking. In 1962, the Board of Directors of the 2,000-member Co-op authorized purchase of the Hanover Co-op Food Store’s present site. In 1963, the Co-op moved into its new quarters at 45 South Park Street.

Expansion

Since then the Co-op has continued to flourish. The Hanover Co-op Food Store has been expanded and renovated several times to meet the needs of its growing membership. In 1985, the Co-op purchased the adjacent Park Street Mobil station, now the Co-op Service Center, and in 1995, opened a second Service Center on Lyme Road in Hanover.

By 1996, the Co-op had almost 18,000 members, and sales had grown to over $20 million. Members voted to open a second Co-op Food Store in order to relieve crowding at the popular Hanover store. The Lebanon Co-op Food Store opened in October, 1997.

The Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society, Inc.—which had always been known as the Hanover Co-op—became the Co-op Food Stores.

Membership in the Co-op grew by leaps and bounds with the opening of the Lebanon store, and once again, the Hanover store felt the pressure of increased patronage. In May 1999, the Co-op converted the Lyme Road Service Center into a convenience store, keeping the gas pumps and adding a selection of grocery items to what was renamed the Co-op Community Market. In 2008, the 1,000-square-foot facility was replaced by a new energy-efficient building with 3,500 square feet of retail space.

A Commissary Kitchen in Wilder, Vermont, was added in 2000 to meet member demand for prepared foods at all locations. In 2010, the Co-op established a third food store in the community of White River Junction, Vermont.