Important Update from Eastside
June 26, 2023
Dear Eastside Community,
The Eastside Board of Directors has important news. Our General Manager John Lacaria is leaving his position at Eastside on August 4, 2023. On behalf of the Board, I want to express deep gratitude for John’s 13 years of service, especially the past 7 years as General Manager. Importantly, he led Eastside though the stressful COVID-19 pandemic and Minneapolis’ social unrest with grace and care. We will really miss John and wish him the very best.
Anne Gazzola will be serving as the Interim General Manager until a new General Manager is chosen. Anne has 20 years of co-op experience and has served as Store Operations Manager for Eastside since 2019. She is well suited for this interim leadership position.
With the assistance of an executive search firm the Board has started prescreening candidates to hire a permanent General Manager. The position is posted here, and we will keep you informed of our progress. The Board plans to engage employees and owners in the final round of interviews. We will have a new General Manager in place by the fall 2023.
Cooperatively Yours,
Amanda Degener, President
Eastside Board of Directors
John Lacaria
It’s time for me to say farewell, Eastside Food Co-op community. I was welcomed to Northeast when I joined the staff of Eastside in 2010. About 35 employees worked at Eastside then and the store had just under $5 million in sales. Fast forward 13 years and Eastside now has over 120 employees and will approach $20 million in sales in its 20th year of operations. It has been so rewarding to be a part of the incredible growth of this organization and I’m so proud of all the good we have brought to our cooperative community.
I notified the Board of Directors of my intent to leave several months ago. I am proud to have led Eastside, a critical community resource, through the COVID-19 pandemic and the social unrest following the murder of George Floyd. These times were difficult, rewarding, challenging, uplifting, and exhausting. By focusing on serving our community, we ensured the co-op continued to grow. As the public health emergency ended, I realized it was time for someone else to continue the work I’ve begun. I’m so grateful I’m able to hand off an organization that is poised for future success.
Serving the owners, employees, and shoppers of Eastside Food Co-op has been an incredibly special experience. I wish all the best for our cooperative community and look forward to seeing you when I’m shopping in the store or doing other fun things in the neighborhood.
Sincerely,
