Miami Co-Op opened a deli within the existing store. (Andrew Bray | The Miami Student)
A new deli recently opened up in Oxford that will please Miami University students and community members interested in locally grown and organic foods.
Moon Co-Op, located at 512 S. Locust St., is a local store focusing on selling locally grown, organic produce. And, according to Barbara Stewart Smith, fresh foods manager and head chef of Moon Co-Op, the market now includes a new deli for community members to enjoy.
"Moon Co-Op has been in planning for 10 years and part of the deli as a full service deli has been planning in stages for the last few years," Smith said. "The new deli was part of the initial plan when we opened the store but we wanted to get all of the other aspects of the store really solid before we opened."
As Moon Co-Op waited for equipment to come in, Smith and fellow employees decided they would open the deli in phases. The first phase opened on St. Patrick's Day this year. The first phase entails "grab and go" deli sandwiches, according to Smith.
Smith said the sandwiches are not average "run of the mill" sandwiches most customers are used to.
"We have really interesting sandwiches; they aren't typical and we have fun names for them," Smith said. "One of the sandwiches for example is called, 'The Green Goddess,' which is a veggie vegan option. It is an organic spinach wrap with lemon, thyme, kalamata olives, house made hummus and shredded veggies."
Smith said the ingredients used are always the freshest produce.
"We stick to whichever produce is the freshest and most available," Smith said. "For example, for the 'Green Goddess,' we use the freshest fennel, cilantro, shredded sprouts, tomatoes and then Annie's organic goddess dressing and pumpkin seeds. "
The phasing for the deli is not finished yet.
"As for more phasing, this week we will introduce a super green salad on Saturday with baby kale, greens, nuts, seeds and a black bean salsa," Smith said. "It's more of a salad with a southwestern flavor palate. And as we procure our equipment and it's installed we'll be doing hot soups, Panini's and a full line of deli salads like fruit salads also."
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Smith hopes by Memorial Day weekend Moon Co-Op will be able to serve food in their courtyard to encourage community members to come and enjoy the food.
"I think there is sometimes a misconception that people think that they have to be members to shop here but you don't have to be a member," Smith said. "This is a community market; we want everyone to feel welcome and feel as though they can purchase their entire grocery list here."
The deli and the market are available to the public, not just members of Moon Co-Op. Store and deli hours range from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, according to Smith.
Hillary Swift, Smith's co-worker at Moon Co-Op, is also looking forward to expanding the business with the new deli.
"I've known about Co-Op opening before it even opened and I've been working here since it opened in October ... I'm looking forward to the new deli and I'm excited to have all this really healthy food available," Swift said. "It's great; for example all of the bread is homemade for the sandwiches and we really try to use as much organics as we can."
According to Smith, Swift and she would like to have more vegetarian and vegan options. They would like to add juicing, raw foods and protein packed smoothies to the menu.
"We have over 20 local products in the store and we use local products as they come in season," Smith said. "It's our mission to support local farmers and the local economy at the same time. This has really been a personal dream of mine. We want to be offering things that are not offered anywhere else."
Miami sophomore Carolyn Stobbe believes the new deli at Moon Co-Op is exactly what Oxford needs.
Stobbe said, "I love that it supports the community and that it is different from other places in Oxford. I definitely want to try this deli."
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