This week we talk with founder and former Chairman of the Board for the Windsor Terrace Food Coop, Jack O'Connell, and why he thought it was going to be easy to open a food coop!
Segment 1
This week, Jeremiah starts off with a quote and soon introduces his guest Jack O’Connell who has an impressive background. Jack talks about his upbringing in Flushing Queens and the change he saw when people started getting televisions in their houses. He talks about the relationship the neighborhood had with the stores and the personal connections people had. Jeremiah and Jack talk about cars that started to appear in the neighborhood and the first supermarket.
Segment 2
Jeremiah talks about him and Jack came to be close friends and the beginning of his wine bar. Jack talks about why he came to Windsor Terrace in the first place. He started out in Park Slope in 1975 when he rented an apartment. Jack talks about the shift in property value and how people won’t leave Windsor Terrace unless they die. Everyone is extremely attracted to the neighborhood. Jeremiah brings up the Windsor Terrace coop and how Jack got involved.
Segment 3
Jack comes back in to talk about how the Windsor Terrace got its start. He thought he was about to retire and instead decided to try to start a new coop. Jeremiah talks about how a coop actually works and that if you don’t come in for your shift, then you can’t shop! Jack talks about how he would set community meetings for anyone who wanted to be apart of the coop. Jack also mentions that it was hard to find a commercial space because Windsor Terrace is not that big.
Segment 4
Jeremiah comes back in to talk to Jack once again about how the food business has affected him. He talks about first finding his place in the Windsor Terrace coop and how the aspect of the community is extremely important to him. He talks about what it’s like to have the store as a non-profit and a grocery store. Jack talks about why he cares so much about small businesses and the money, the markets, and the way things can get thrown your way. Jack continues about why he wanted to start a sense of community within Windsor Terrace and how it has affected him positively for as long as he’s been a part of it.
