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LOS ALAMOS 鈥� While a nuclear deterrence program and organic produce might seem like an odd pairing, the town that built the bomb is nonetheless home to one of just a handful of local co-ops enhancing natural food access in northern New Mexico.

Over the last two years, Los Alamos Cooperative Market has undergone significant changes to bring customers back after a Natural Grocers came to town in 2021, Smith鈥檚 ramped up its organic food offerings and other national retailers continue to expand their footprint in the area.

鈥淎fter several challenging years, the co-op has completed a significant financial and operational turnaround,鈥� said Thomas Salazar, general manager. 鈥淲e have rebuilt our management team, corrected financial reporting issues, improved operations, and are seeing positive momentum in 2026.鈥�

The locally owned store on Entrada Drive is a longtime partner of the Minnesota-based National Co+op Grocers.

When he was promoted from pricing manager to general manager four years ago, Salazar consulted the business services co-op to determine how the small local food store could remain competitive with nearby big box retailers.

As a former Walgreens manager, Salazar knew enough about bookkeeping to see that the store was bleeding revenue. He discovered an $80,000 hole in payroll taxes that he paid off quickly and brought the co-op鈥檚 accounting arm in-house.

But getting the store鈥檚 books in order was only the first step.

Next, Salazar worked with NCG to retool the co-op鈥檚 pricing structure, resulting in significant price cuts across the store that gave it an edge over its corporate peers, leveled its margins to around 38% and reminded its members of the savings co-ops are intended to bring.

The store鈥檚 pricing manager, Jared Apodaca, also examined the market, pulling certain items from the co-op鈥檚 shelves and emphasizing the goods their data showed were most in demand.

The changes have paid off.

Customers have been returning to the co-op over the last two years, Salazar said, and sales have been steadily rising 鈥� from around $5,000-6,000 in daily sales to $7,000-8,000 this spring. Soon, they expect to surpass $10,000 in daily sales.

Apodaca said the store does about $3 million in sales annually, well below the annual earnings of its corporate competitors.

But staying small and community-centric is the idea, according to David Hampton, a co-op member for 10 years and its former board president.

鈥淚 like to shop organic, so I would go down and shop at Whole Foods in Santa Fe,鈥� said Hampton, a retired project controller at the nearby national lab, 鈥渂ut when they opened the co-op, I started shopping here 鈥� great selection, great produce, so I鈥檝e been a big supporter.鈥�

Salazar said the market is the only locally owned organic food store in the area and carries produce from several local farmers.

鈥淚 know that we鈥檙e one of the only, if not the only store here in town that actually has local farmers coming in, bringing their produce and stuff like that,鈥� he said.

Los Alamos Co-op Market also features a hot bar with a rotating daily menu, with items ranging from gluten-free kung pao chicken to calabacitas.

Members are about to celebrate the store鈥檚 15th anniversary just outside the city center, a location chosen due to high property prices in downtown Los Alamos, home to some of the most expensive real estate in New Mexico.

The store currently has just over 3,000 members and employs 22 people, many of whom travel in from the surrounding region. Both Salazar and Apodaca hail from Espa帽ola, whose Natural Food Co-op closed down a few years back.

鈥淢iss it terribly,鈥� Mateo Peixinho wrote in a public post about the closure on the Facebook page, The Beautiful Espa帽ola Valley. 鈥淚 was part of a group that thought we needed more visibility in order to make it financially viable.鈥�

Beyond contending with the economies of scale that favor corporate-owned supermarket chains, running a local food co-op comes with a slew of other challenges, from high startup costs, the need to pay fair wages to support small farmers while also pricing competitively and governance breakdowns.

National Co+op Grocers also supports La Monta帽ita Co-op, which has locations across sa国际传媒官网网页入口, Santa Fe and Gallup. Other market collectives in the region include Dixon Cooperative Market & Deli, Los de Mora Local Growers Co-op and Taos Food Co-op, which has about 2,000 members.

Last year, Los Alamos Co-op Market launched a fundraising campaign to raise $100,000 to replace aging refrigeration and update other store equipment. So far, members have raised about $28,000.

Salazar hopes the changes he and his staff have made at the market will continue to be taken as a sign of good faith that they are a part of the community in a way national retailers can鈥檛 be.

鈥淚鈥檝e never worked for a place where we鈥檙e so community-driven to where we actually hold free vendor fairs for our community, so anyone can come in and sell their product,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 charge anything. It鈥檚 a very unique place. People here are just the nicest.鈥�

John Miller is the sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.