Riverwest Co-op & Cafe
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe was a member-owned cooperative natural foods grocery and vegetarian/vegan cafe in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood, serving local residents for 25 years before closing in September 2025.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersMilwaukee, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Riverwest Co-op & Cafe
- Legal name
- Riverwest Coop
- Website
- https://riverwestcoop.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Riverwest Co-op & Cafe was a member-owned cooperative natural foods grocery and vegetarian/vegan cafe in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood, serving local residents for 25 years before closing in September 2025.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cooperative Grocery & Cafe
- NAICS
- Full-Service Restaurants (722511)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Member-Owned Food Cooperatives (CRAHALAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Farm-to-Consumer Cooperative Markets (Local Producer Co-ops) (CRAHALAG)
Keywords
Where Riverwest Co-op & Cafe is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Milwaukee
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Grocery Sales: Retail grocery sales to members and non-member customers at the physical storefront location.
- Cafe Sales: Cafe food and beverage sales at the physical location.
- Membership Fees: Annual and lifetime membership fees from cooperative members. One-year membership costs $22.00, lifetime membership costs $122.00.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | New Membership - One Year |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Lifetime Membership |
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels2 records
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe is a member-owned cooperative that operates a natural foods grocery store and an adjacent vegetarian/vegan cafe at a single brick-and-mortar location in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It sells organic, local, and fair trade grocery items and cafe-prepared food and beverages to members and the general public, and offers paid memberships (one-year and lifetime) that confer governance participation in the cooperative.
Product overview
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe is a cooperative grocery store and café operating as a single unified business offering. The organization provides two core services: a grocery department and a café, both located at 733 E Clarke Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The co-op also offers a membership program that allows community members to join as owners and participate in governance decisions. The business announced it will close in September 2025 after 25 years of operation due to financial challenges.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Grocery A cooperative natural foods grocery department offering organic, local, and fair trade food and grocery items to cooperative members and the general public at the 733 E Clarke Street storefront in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
- Cafe A vegetarian and vegan cafe operated alongside the cooperative grocery at the Milwaukee storefront, offering prepared food and beverages to members and the public seven days a week from 9am to 8pm.
- Membership Program A paid cooperative membership program offering one-year memberships ($22.00), lifetime memberships ($122.00), and annual membership renewals, granting members governance rights, participation in special membership meetings, and involvement in cooperative decisions.
Companies that use Riverwest Co-op & Cafe
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights1 record
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- PCC Community Markets: The largest member-owned natural foods cooperative in the U.S., operating 15+ stores across the Seattle metro with cafe and prepared food services. Comparable in cooperative ownership model and natural foods focus, but operates at substantially larger scale than Riverwest Co-op.
- Whole Foods Market: National natural and organic foods supermarket chain with prepared foods and cafe sections in most locations. Comparable to Riverwest Co-op in natural/organic product positioning and cafe integration within a grocery, though operating as a for-profit corporate chain rather than a member-owned cooperative.
Direct peers
- Bloomingfoods Co-op Market: Member-owned natural foods cooperative with two stores and prepared food service in Bloomington, IN. Comparable in member-owned structure, natural/organic focus, and small-to-mid scale retail-plus-cafe operating model.
- People's Food Co-op: Member-owned natural foods cooperative with a cafe in Portland, OR. Comparable to Riverwest Co-op in member ownership, organic/local sourcing, and small-scale cafe-integrated retail model, though operating in a different regional market.
- Seward Community Co-op: Member-owned natural foods cooperative with two stores plus a fresh-prepared deli in Minneapolis, MN. Comparable in cooperative governance, natural/organic focus, and integrated prepared-food service at a similar mid-scale footprint to Riverwest Co-op.
- Willy Street Co-op: Member-owned natural foods cooperative operating three stores with an in-store cafe in Madison, WI. Highly comparable to Riverwest Co-op in Wisconsin footprint, member-owned cooperative structure, organic/local sourcing focus, and cafe-integrated small-format grocery model.
- Mississippi Market: Member-owned natural foods cooperative operating three stores in the St. Paul, MN metro, including integrated deli/prepared food offerings. Comparable in member-owned governance, natural foods focus, and cafe/deli-integrated retail format at similar scale.
- Lakewinds Food Co-op: Member-owned natural foods cooperative operating three stores including cafe/deli service in the Minneapolis metro. Directly comparable in cooperative structure, scale of operations, natural foods positioning, and in-store cafe economics.
- Outpost Natural Foods Cooperative: Member-owned natural foods cooperative operating two full-service stores plus a cafe/deli in the Milwaukee metro. Directly comparable to Riverwest Co-op & Cafe in geography (shared Milwaukee market), member-ownership structure, natural foods focus, and integrated cafe offerings.
- New Pioneer Food Co-op: Member-owned natural foods cooperative operating two stores in Iowa City/Coralville, IA. Closely comparable in cooperative structure, small-footprint grocery format, organic/local sourcing, and mission-driven positioning relative to Riverwest Co-op.
Market position
Strengths3 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe social profiles
Digital presenceRiverwest Co-op & Cafe financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Riverwest Co-op & Cafe
What does Riverwest Co-op & Cafe do?
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe is a member-owned cooperative that operates a natural foods grocery store and an adjacent vegetarian/vegan cafe at a single brick-and-mortar location in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It sells organic, local, and fair trade grocery items and cafe-prepared food and beverages to members and the general public, and offers paid memberships (one-year and lifetime) that confer governance participation in the cooperative.
Is Riverwest Co-op & Cafe a public or private company?
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently closed.
When was Riverwest Co-op & Cafe founded?
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe was founded in 2000. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Riverwest Co-op & Cafe based?
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe is headquartered in Milwaukee, United States, in the North America region.
How does Riverwest Co-op & Cafe make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Grocery Sales are the primary driver. The others are cafe Sales and membership Fees.
Who are Riverwest Co-op & Cafe's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are PCC Community Markets and Whole Foods Market. Direct peers are Bloomingfoods Co-op Market, People's Food Co-op, Seward Community Co-op, Willy Street Co-op, Mississippi Market, Lakewinds Food Co-op, Outpost Natural Foods Cooperative and New Pioneer Food Co-op.
Does Riverwest Co-op & Cafe have an API?
No public API is recorded for Riverwest Co-op & Cafe.
What industry is Riverwest Co-op & Cafe in?
Riverwest Co-op & Cafe's product category is Cooperative Grocery & Cafe. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAHALAA, Member-Owned Food Cooperatives, with a secondary code of CRAHALAG, Farm-to-Consumer Cooperative Markets (Local Producer Co-ops). Its NAICS code is 722511 and its SIC code is 5810.