Dean Sparks
Dean Sparks, the new general manager at Good Foods Co-op, is tasked with helping lead Lexington’s 52-year-old community grocery cooperative away from the abyss of an impending financial crisis. He brings extensive experience in grocery retail and organic farming as a supplier to cooperatives.
Sparks was general manager for the Vermont-based Morrisville Food Cooperative, and held management positions at several other cooperatives and grocery businesses, most recently as general manager for Public Market in Wheeling, West Virginia. He ran an organic egg farm for 14 years and helped the USDA write organic standards for eggs. He returned to the grocery business after semi-retirement in Mexico, where he had moved to care for his mother.
“The financial situation at the Co-op… has become dire, threatening the ability of the Co-op to continue operating,” Claudia Goggin, president of the Good Foods board, wrote in the store’s spring newsletter. Goggin was recruited by the board in 2018 to help with the Co-op’s financial situation. She has an MBA from the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville and has served as treasurer for several nonprofits.
Goggin said the Co-op started having financial losses in or around 2015. The financial situation improved significantly by 2019, and then came the COVID pandemic, which shut down the deli and caused a downturn in overall business. In 2022, a partial closure of Southland Drive, where the Co-op is located, had a significant impact, she said, generating a lot of losses. Then, in 2023, the winter storm of March caused a power outage with a costly shutdown of operations that lasted several days. The Co-op had no financial cushion.
In assessing the way forward for the Co-op, the board prioritized hiring a new general manager as a top priority. It also appealed to its owners (Good Foods is open to the general public but also has the option for member ownership) to make temporary loans to sustain the Co-op through the challenging time. Loans came in, allowing for the replacement of a few critical pieces of equipment, but Goggin notes that there remains a significant need for equipment and infrastructure improvements.
Working with a recruiting firm, the board conducted a nationwide search to fill the general manager position. “We had a lot of input from different folks and a multi-step process to vet and select the best candidate to help us turn the Co-op around,” Goggin said. Sparks began work at Good Foods in early March. Business Lexington spoke with Sparks about the Co-op and the work ahead.
What are your priorities for the Co-op?
It’s multi-pronged. There are many things we need to do quickly to turn things around. We certainly have a focus on the prepared whole foods kitchen area, and we’re looking for a new kitchen manager. We’re focused on social media and how we engage our customers, encouraging our 10,000-plus owners to return to the store. The entire grocery set on our shelves will be refreshed over the next few months to bring in a significant number of new products.
Right now, I’m at the National Cooperative Grocers Conference in Washington, D.C. We’re one of 160 co-ops nationwide that belong to this organization. They bring us a ton of good resources and assets to promote the co-op business model and our own stores. We’re getting ready to launch a series of audio and video podcasts from the Co-op to talk about all kinds of topics in the health food lifestyle.
What kinds of changes can customers expect on the shelves?
Reviewing all our shelf sets over the last few weeks, we immediately recognized that certain categories in the industry nationwide are doing pretty well, and we have a limited representation of them on our shelves. For example, you’ll see a bigger expanse of pickles and preserved foods. Our beer sales are strong. We have a very good selection of local and regional craft beers, and we will increase that significantly.
We have a pretty good selection of vegan products now, and gluten-free options are another trend. You’ll see both those categories more well represented on our shelves.
With your background as a farmer, what’s your perspective on local farmers?
The cooperative model is an important business model. Many people don’t fully understand that farming cooperatives and small independent farmers are the No. 1 suppliers of the products in our stores, specifically in produce but also in dairy, meat, and other areas.
We got our strawberry plants in last week and they’re gorgeous and strong. We put three eight-foot racks in front of the store. We also have local compost and potting soils available.
We have a touchpoint for every product category with local options for folks. We just got an email from [a producer] who recently relocated from another state to Kentucky. She has a whole line of roll-on antiperspirants, soaps, shampoos, and other products we’ll be looking at as soon as I’m back. We cultivate relationships for all departments storewide. We support 175 or so local vendors.
What has been the response to the changes?
It’s a little too early to tell. But to give a sense, our March numbers were almost $100,000 better than in 2023. That indicates that we’re starting to see more traffic in the door. Our average basket count is increasing. We’re seeing a bigger rush of volume after work, with people coming in to pick up things for dinner.
We need some runway for some of these programs to get off the ground before we see super-dramatic results, but we’ve noticed an uptick.
Is there anything you want to add about your vision for Good Foods?
It’s a very optimistic vision. The Co-op has been a bedrock in Lexington for 52 years. It’s very enjoyable to run into people in their 70s and 80s who have been members for 40 or 50 years. We hope to continue building on that legacy by providing exemplary customer service experience, great food you can’t find anywhere else, and a staff that’s educated about our products. A confidence has been built over those 52 years, and our goal is to continue to strengthen that and cement that relationship for the future.