Lakewinds and Peace Coffee Announce Partnership in Richfield

Contact: Dale Woodbeck

(952) 512-2101

dalew@lakewinds.coop

Contact:  Lee Wallace

(612) 870-3440

lee@peacecoffee.com

December 16, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Lakewinds Natural Foods and Peace Coffee Announce Partnership in Richfield

(EDEN PRAIRIE, MINNESOTA; MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA):  Lakewinds Natural Foods Co-op is opening its third store in the spring of 2014, at the Lyndale Gardens site in Richfield.  They are announcing a partnership with Peace Coffee, who will be operating a coffee bar inside the co-op.  This will be the first, independently owned and operated coffee shop in a Twin Cities Co-op.

Dale Woodbeck, General Manager of Lakewinds, and Lee Wallace, Peace Coffee Queen Bean/CEO, will make the public announcement at an upcoming community event, the Richfield Winter Market & Solstice Festival of Lights.  The event is Saturday, December 21, 2013, from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m., held at the site of the new Lakewinds store, 6420 Lyndale Avenue South.  Woodbeck and Wallace will jointly announce the new co-op, coffee shop and relationship at this family-friendly, outdoor winter holiday event.  Lakewinds and Peace Coffee will be offering samples of bakery items, coffee, and other treats at their event table.

Shared values are the core component of the partnership between Lakewinds and Peace Coffee.  Both organizations support their local communities in the way of donations and outreach; they each are committed to local and organic foods and fair trade products.  Together, they have long traditions of bringing cooperation and collaboration to the Twin Cities food and restaurant market.

“Our values and business objectives align so well that it is natural that we team up together to provide a great coffee shop inside of a great community owned food co-op at Lyndale Gardens in Richfield,” said Dale Woodbeck, General Manager of Lakewinds.

Lee Wallace, CEO of Peace Coffee, states, “Our partnership with Lakewinds is a perfect fit.  We’re two companies with a strong commitment to local foods and the Twin Cities community.  Opening this coffee bar will allow us to deepen our local presence and continue to educate coffee drinkers about the benefits of organic, fairly traded and handcrafted coffee.”

Founded in 1975, Lakewinds is a member-owned natural and organic foods co-op.  They currently have stores in Minnetonka and Chanhassen.  Theirs is a rich history of community outreach and giving, education, and promoting the values of healthy foods and families through sustainable agriculture and exceptional farms.

Peace Coffee is a Minneapolis-based coffee roaster and the first Twin Cities’ roaster dedicated to 100% fair trade and organic coffee.  Since 1996, Peace Coffee has purchased coffee beans directly from small-scale farmers around the world.   In 2010 they opened their first coffee shop in the Longfellow neighborhood in Minneapolis.

The Lakewinds co-op in Richfield is part of the Cornerstone redevelopment project in the Lyndale Gardens area at 64th and Lyndale.  In addition to the co-op, Cornerstone plans include housing units, retail spaces, community garden and green space.  The area will be a vital part of the community, bringing neighbors and families together to shop, live, eat, converse, work and play.

More information:  www.lakewinds.coop; www.peacecoffee.com;

www.lyndalegardens.com/town-center/

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