A Former Joann Fabrics Store in Wisconsin Is Expected To Be This 170-Unit Specialty Grocer's First Store East of the Mississippi River
The former Joann site would be one of many repurposes of Big Box and drugstore real estate that Natural Grocers has completed to upgrade its real estate and align with its focus on sustainability
It is Wisconsin.
As in the new state that Colorado-based Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage NGVC 0.00%↑ teased on last week’s earnings call in which it plans to open a new store.
That is because Natural Grocers was the winning bidder at a bankruptcy auction held last month for a former Joann store lease in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
When Natural Grocers opens the Wisconsin store, it will be the first in a state east of the Mississippi River for the specialty grocer that primarily sells organic food and produce, vitamins and dietary supplements.
Natural Grocers currently operates ~170 stores in all 21 states west of the Mississippi except California.
But the repurpose of the former Joann store will be only the latest adaptive reuse conversion for the chain.
Natural Grocers has repurposed dozens of Big Box retail sites, former drugstores and vacant grocery stores.
It has even completed an adaptive reuse of a former theater into a grocery store!
And it is all part of real estate strategy that fits not only with Natural Grocers’ plans to upgrade its store base but also with its focus on sustainability.
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage is not a high flying unit grower.
The specialty grocer — which primarily sells organic food and produce, vitamins and dietary supplements — was founded by Margaret and Philip Isely in 1955 and had just 11 stores when the Iselys' children acquired it in the late 1990s.
Even though Natural Grocers has added ~160 stores over the past 25 years, the Company — which is still managed by members of the Isely Family — opens new units at a measured pace.
In fact Natural Grocers added a total of just 7 net new stores over the past 5 years.
However, during that same time period the Company has also relocated many of its existing stores into better real estate.
In the past three years alone Natural Grocers relocated at least 10 stores.
Going forward the Company plans to open between 6 and 8 stores a year, roughly 1/2 of which are expected to be relocations.
One of the most common building types for both new and relocated stores?
Former drugstore real estate.
Like this adaptive reuse of a former CVS building in Waco, Texas — one of the two stores the Company opened earlier this year.
The future repurpose of the former Joann Fabrics store in Wisconsin will also be a familiar project for Natural Grocers.
The Company has opened several new stores in "2nd generation" suites formerly home to Joann as well as other Big Box retailers like TJ Maxx and Bed Bath & Beyond.
And another recent Natural Grocers store opening in 2025 was also in a converted Big Box retail store:
A former Office Depot in Brownsville, Texas.
Natural Grocers has even pursued adaptive reuse in smaller towns where former drugstores and Big Box buildings are not widely available.
For instance, Natural Grocers opened a new store last year in the town of Gunnison, Colorado (population ~6,800).
It was a repurpose of locally owned Darnell True Value Hardware, a 16,000 square foot hardware store that had recently closed after ~30 years of operation.
Sometimes Natural Grocers pursues even more creative adaptive reuse projects.
Like its repurpose of The Casa Linda Theater in Dallas, Texas.
The Casa Linda Theater opened as a single screen theater in 1945.
A second screen was added in the early 1970s and a few years later the Casa Linda expanded to four screens in a little over 12,000 square feet.
It operated until 1999.
While a few chains considered taking over the classic theater to continue operating it as a cinema, the space sat vacant for about a decade.
Until Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage completed an adaptive reuse of the former theater into a grocery store.
Quite a bit of work was necessary to convert the space — including a roof replacement, leveling of the floor and removal of load-bearing walls.
Inside the classic theater-turned-grocery store looks like a typical Natural Grocers site.
But Natural Grocers preserved the exterior and facade of the building — and put its own twist on the original art-deco marquee.
Adaptive reuse of existing commercial real estate will likely remain a key strategy for Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage as it grows.
After all the repurpose and reuse of vacant buildings not only offers Natural Grocers an attractive opportunity to upgrade its real estate, but it also resonates with the Company’s foundational support for practices that promote sustainability.
Natural Grocers has historically prioritized offering products produced via regenerative and sustainable agricultural practices.
The Company has also touted its work to reduce its environmental impact by preventing food waste and restricting the single-use plastic bags.
Perhaps Natural Grocers will even begin to measure the (lack of) impact from its adaptive re-use projects and building conversions — like U-Haul UHAL 0.00%↑ which has incorporated its sustainability focus into its real estate development and site selection.
In any event, Natural Grocers is likely to rely on adaptive reuse as a means to both upgrade its real estate and enhance its sustainability efforts.
Especially as the Company moves eastward in expansion — a part of the country where bankrupt retailers like Joann, Rite Aid and Big Lots have vacated several thousand (!) sites over just the past twelve months.