New Pioneer Food Co-op is celebrating the anniversary of its Cedar Rapids store with wine, beer and food tastings. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

New Pioneer Food Co-op is celebrating the anniversary of its Cedar Rapids store with wine, beer and appetizer samples. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

CEDAR RAPIDS – It’s been one year since New Pioneer Food Co-op opened the doors to its new Cedar Rapids store and the celebration continues.

Part of the festivities are at the Cedar Rapids store, at 3338 Center Point Rd. NE, with more happening at their stores in Coralville and Iowa City.

See photos from the store’s opening day and grand opening and learn more about the anniversary event from New Pioneer:

New Pioneer Food Co-op Cedar Rapids invites everyone to a FREE huge wine, beer, & appetizer sampling at New Pi Cedar Rapids 5-7PM Friday, Dec. 11, 2015, for day 2 of their 4-day first anniversary celebration!

Fourteen beer & wine vendors will be pouring samples of their goods along with appetizer samples from specialty olives to cheese, charcuterie, and preserves, all to live music by Matt Maybanks! Discover how to throw a holiday party with fantastic local fare at New Pi: after taste-testing to find your favorites, you’ll know how to put together an easy party spread that’ll knock your guests’ holiday stocks off! New Pi will also offer a special one-day discount on wines at all 3 stores: extra big versions of their normal wine case discounts – 10% off a half case (6+ bottles), and 15% off full cases (12+ bottles) – feel free to mix and match wines.

The Cedar Rapids New Pi’s 1st Birthday 4-day party kicked off today with a great crowd that enjoyed free local organic carrot and wheat-free vegan chocolate cake, locally roasted coffee, a great lunch deal, and signed a giant birthday card for the Cedar Rapids Co-op. The celebration continues at all 3 New Pi stores through Sunday with great $1 deals, and a raffle at each store to win free (organic) milk for a year (details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1083485728357313/). Over 25 local farmers and producers will also offer free samples of their goods at New Pi Cedar Rapids throughout the weekend. Everyone’s invited to join in the celebrations! Find more details on their Facebook event page.

New Pioneer Cooperative Society was founded as a natural foods cooperative grocery in Iowa City in 1971, opened its Coralville branch in 2001, and opened a third store in Cedar Rapids in December of 2014. New Pi is a thriving food co-op with over 33,000 members-owners. The stores provide local, organic, and natural foods to the Corridor and everyone is welcome to shop – owner or not. New Pi is located at 22 S. Van Buren St. in Iowa City, at 1101 2nd St. in Coralville, and at 3338 Center Point Road NE in Cedar Rapids. Please visit www.newpi.coop for more information.