Chicago Market is a genuine cooperative business in the making - and I am a co-op guy to the bone! The opportunity to positively impact a community through a food cooperative in a dense, urban environment like Uptown has rarely come along in the greater than two decades I have worked for cooperatives. The site, location, and start-up culture of Chicago Market, I believe, will lead to a meaningful, powerful institution that will have tremendous local significance and national importance as an example of how to tackle urban cooperative grocery at scale. It is truly exciting to be a part of this project!

More about Dan

Dan Arnett is a veteran of the cooperative grocery business. After serving in various management roles (most notably a decade-long run as Store Manager) at Good Foods Co-op in Lexington, KY, he went on to serve as the executive manager of multiple cooperatives. Dan served as the CEO of Central Co-op, headquartered in Seattle Washington’s Capitol Hill Neighborhood. He then took on the role of General Manager for the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op to lead the opening of a newly relocated and expanded store. Dan has most recently served as General Manager of the Placerville Natural Food Co-op in El Dorado County California.  

Dan also has an extensive background in cooperative governance. He has served on the boards of two primary food cooperatives and on the board of National Co-op Grocers, a cooperative inclusive of over two billion dollars of aggregate member sales annually. He also has served on various other non-profit and cooperative-related boards in North America. He is currently the Treasurer of Fairtrade America, a fair trade certifier and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.. 

In addition to these experiences, Dan has a wealth of other cooperative experience. He holds a Master of Management: Cooperatives and Credit Unions degree from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has done field study of cooperative systems globally, including in Cuba, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and more. Dan has also served as adjunct professor of cooperative business for Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco and Seattle and regularly serves as a speaker, educator, trainer, and consultant for cooperatives.