Natural and organic food, like this fresh produce at the New Pioneer Food Co-op in Iowa City, will be available sooner, rather than later, in Cedar Rapids. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

Natural and organic food, like this fresh produce at the New Pioneer Food Co-op in Iowa City, will be available sooner, rather than later, in Cedar Rapids. (photo/Cindy Hadish)

CEDAR RAPIDS – New Pioneer Food Co-op’s number 1 question from the public, of late, has been about the opening date of its Cedar Rapids store.

Last fall, Iowa City-based New Pi announced it would open a new store in the former Fin & Feather building, at 3338 Center Point Rd. NE, in Cedar Rapids.

At the time, general manager Matt Hartz said plans called for the store to open in early 2015, “if not sooner.”

Apparently, “sooner” won, with an announcement this week that the new location will open this fall. The precise date is not yet known, but should be revealed in the coming months.

Here is more from Hartz about New Pi’s plans for the Cedar Rapids site:

Everyone’s number one question for us is: “When is the Cedar Rapids store opening?”

This is a natural question, though we’ve been hesitant to answer until we’ve gotten our ducks in a row. At long last, their direction is clear! We can finally announce: we will be opening our new Cedar Rapids store this fall. Please stay tuned here for a more precise date in the coming months.

We have additional exciting news to announce about our sustainability plans for the CR store. Our aim, of course, is to complete the project as environmentally consciously as possible.

A few of our environmentally sustainable design aspects are as follows:

1. Storm water management is of obvious import, particularly in Cedar Rapids. Our new store parking lot will include a bioswale – a planting of native vegetation, also known as a bioretention area, grassy swale, or filter strip – to mitigate, collect, and filter storm water runoff.

2. A majority of our retail coolers will have doors, cutting energy use significantly (refrigeration accounts for about 2/3 of our energy costs).

3. Our interior lighting is another area where our choices have sustainability significance. We will be utilizing LEDs in our interior lighting as well has some high efficiency fluorescents.

All in all, sustainability factors into our everyday choices as well as our planning efforts. We know that you, our owners, consider this a high priority, and please feel confident that your environmentally conscious grocery store is doing the best we know for a greener tomorrow.

Related articles:

Cedar Rapids chosen for third New Pi store

Sites under consideration for New Pi store

New Pioneer voting results

Is Cedar Rapids “too unsophisticated” for New Pi?