The Co-op is now “Graze”, with their new location 1 South Minnesota Street. This was previously a Subway franchise.

Graze Board of Directors Member Amy Gulden said nothing about the business has changed.

“We provide access to fresh local and organic food in New Ulm and the surrounding communities,” she said. “We still are, nothing has changed on the back end.”

Gulden said the name change came as a desire to refresh the name and image of the co-op in a modern direction. Names were submitted by co-op members, and Graze was the winner. Gulden said they are happy with the decision they have made.

A board sign out front announces Graze is open in its new location.

“It evokes this image of land, animals, people,” she said. “Animals graze, people graze. We really like that storytelling element.”

Gulden said the next step was a new logo to reflect the name. The co-op worked with Skeeter Design of Minneapolis, looking to capture the essence of Graze. Gulden said they were successful.

“They nailed our vision of fresh, modern, and clean,” she said.

So far the reception has been positive. Gulden said it has helped them reach people previously unaware of them.

“We’ve gotten some people to notice and take a look at the coop who maybe didn’t know we existed before,” she said. “The response has been really positive. People have liked the logo, vision, and direction we’re going with the rebrand.”

In tandem with the rebrand was a new location. Gulden said the location change was necessary.

“We outgrew our former location,” she said. “We knew we needed a bigger location. We knew we wanted to stay downtown. That was really important to us. We are New Ulm’s only downtown grocery store.”

Gulden said a lot of work went into making the space home for Graze.

“We tore down wallpaper, painted, and had to do some minor repairs,” she said. “There [was also] the logistics of packing all the stock and getting it over here.”

Graze is fully run by members. Gulden said they would not have been able to get everything done without their hard work.

“We rely on our member base to step up and help when we do big initiatives like this,” she said. “We had a great response from members. We had to make sure we had enough people lined up, could coordinate schedules, and get everyone on board.”

While Graze is open for normal hours, Gulden said there are still some moving pieces before their official grand re-opening in a few months.

“We are approved to start accepting SNAP payments,” she said. “[This will] expand access even more within our community for people to come and shop. We were recently awarded a grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. We will use it to upgrade our equipment and make an even better shopping experience.”

Gulden said there is no set date for the grand re-opening. Graze is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2-6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.