Emily Dean/Winonan

As Winona says goodbye to the iconic bar, MC’s, the neighboring Bluff Country Co-op is getting ready to expand into the vacant building.

Bluff Country Co-op’s Marketing Director Chris Peters said the co-op officially bought out MC’s bar earlier this month.

“There was a point where we knew that the bar was not going to be there anymore, so we wanted to have a go at the building and try to expand. We had been trying to expand for a while,” Peters said.

Peters said the co-op was in the process of looking around Winona to find a good location to expand to but felt like it already had a good location.

“Finding out that there wasn’t going to be a bar there anymore worked out because we knew that keeping the location we had would be the best thing for us so it kind of all worked out all at once,” Peters said.

According to Peters, although the co-op was established in Winona in 1972, the current location was purchased around 14 years ago and he said the expansion had been talked about for a long time.

“We would like to offer more to our customers. I think we are basically working at max capacity in this space,” Peters said.

With the news of the expansion, Peters said regular shoppers at the co-op have been vocal about their ideas for the new space.

An expanded kitchen, expanded deli, juice bar and café are just some of the ideas floating around for the co-op.

Peters said having guest’s input is very important to them and they have a board set up in the store for guests to write down what they’d like to see done with the new space.

On the board ideas like a stage for music, a place to order hot food and a liquor store are written next to the blueprints for the new space.

Peters said he would personally love to see a juice bar put in, but he also expressed the fact that the room for back stock is lacking.

“We’d love to be more prepared for more sales and would like to be able to offer more products.” Peters said.

While some college students may be concerned about loosing a place to dance at the end of the night, Peters encourages college students to have an open mind about the expansion.

“The co-op benefits the college students by being a place that you can constantly go to for healthy eating,” Peters said. “It’s one of the choices you have in town that allows you to shop at a place where you know where your food is coming from but also helps the local economy by keeping your money in Winona.”

Winona State University senior Jonathan Lee said, although he does not shop at the co-op, he is excited for the co-op to expand and said he would definitely check it out once they open.

Lee said shopping at Wal-Mart or Target is easier for him since he lives at Eastlake and does not have his own car.

“I’m a college student and I need to save money. I have to weigh out the options and the co-op is too far from Eastlake.” Lee said.

Money and proximity are the two biggest factors in choosing a grocery store, Lee said.

Although he has never been to the co-op in town, Lee said the idea appeals to him.

“I hear that a lot of the stuff is organic and healthier,” Lee said. “I feel like it does appeal to me because I want to know what I’m purchasing and know where my food comes from but at the same time I know that its more expensive.”

Although Lee has never been to the co-op, he had been to the popular bar MC’s and thinks there may be some mixed reactions among college students.

“I think people who are health conscious about their food and shop there will be excited, but other people who like to go out to the bars will be not as happy about the change.” Lee said.

He does, however, offer up some advice to some college students who may be weary about the co-op.

“College is all about adventure. Go try new things.” Lee said.

The co-op is scheduled to start construction in January and hopes to debut the expansion in 2017.