The Lovettsville Co-op Market – locally grown, community owned

By Liz Tenney Jarvis
Since opening its doors on Nov. 1, 2023, the Lovettsville Co-op Market has filled the need for a grocery store in the town. It is not the average corporate grocery chain as a large portion of their goods are locally sourced and it is community owned. To date, over 100 local businesses provide products to the Co-op and they have around 1,600 member-owners – and counting.

In the five months since opening their doors to the public (members and non-members are welcome), the Co-op has established itself as not only the local grocery store with competitive prices, but as an active part of the community with its programs and fundraisers.

The Co-op also engages in community service such as the upcoming Adopt-a-Highway cleanup of local sections of Rt. 287 on April 14. To date, the Co-op has collected 321 bags of litter and recyclables along their sponsored stretch. 

How the Lovettsville Co-op Market came into existence as a brick-and-mortar establishment can be traced back more than eleven years. A small group of Lovettsville-area residents and local farmers met regularly to share the bounty of the area and to come together as a community. The idea to expand beyond informal gatherings and small farmers market events would require a Herculean effort.  

The funding would come from grants, community support, fundraisers and a grass-roots outreach in order to gather membership. Thousands of hours were spent by the resident-based committee (board) going over architectural plans, location and site planning, attending local and county government meetings and sourcing the aforementioned financial support.

Lovettsville resident, artist, and now Front-End Manager of the Co-op, Jill Evans-Kavaldjian gives detail to the Co-op’s story saying, “The idea of the Lovettsville Co-op came about in mid-2011 when the grocery store nearest to Lovettsville — the Super Fresh in Brunswick, MD — announced that it would close permanently. “Pamela Baldwin was instrumental in organizing, hosted initial meetings at WeatherLea Farm, and was in fact the first official member of the Co-op. She cut the ribbon at the “official” Grand Opening on Dec. 2, 2023. 

Evans-Kavaldjian states that the original Co-op board included Pamela Baldwin, Michelle McIntyre, Tiffany Carder, Warren Howell, Katrina Clayton, and Dan Virgilio. “Julie Harner, the current Vice Chair of the Board has been on the Board a very long time, along with Karen Hignite.  

Molly Kroiz and Kellie Capritta were some of the first vendors involved, and along with Potomac Vegetable Farms and others launched the Co-op’s summer Farmers Market for many years. Originally, the Farmers Market was located near the Squirkle, Lovettsville’s name for their center-of-town square-circle, but then it relocated to the Firehouse. In fact, originally, the Co-op was planning to take over the old firehouse once the new one was built,” says Evans-Kavaldjian.

However, it was significant delays that led to a change in plans, as the new firehouse is still under construction.  “Over the years, fundraising Barn dances and membership drives were held at the WeatherLea barn and other Lovettsville locations. John DeSaix and Caroline Ahern led the capital campaign to ask members to provide loans to the Co-op so construction could begin,” according to Evans-Kavaldjian.
Longtime Co-op board member, Karen Hignite says that she was asked to join the board in 2011 specifically to plan a farmer’s market for the next year. She said, “The farmer’s market was a way to introduce the co-op to the residents of Lovettsville and meet the local producers who we hoped one day would supply a store. And, of course, to grow our membership. And so many people are responsible for holding on to the vision and making the co-op a reality. 

“We had a vision, and we were smart enough to coerce John DeSaix, our Chair, to bring his financial talent to the table and make our dream a reality!”

As part of the original Co-op Board, Michelle McIntyre said, “I am extremely proud to have been a part of the effort to bring a community owned grocery store to Loudoun County and the Town of Lovettsville. The process was long and there were many obstacles but we prevailed.”

McIntyre’s husband, Jim, was a two-term Town Councilman and Vice Mayor for much of the time the Co-op was organizing.

The Lovettsville Co-op now highlights a wide range of produce, meats and cheeses, grocery items, Dairy/non-dairy, gluten-free products, over 70 bulk items, wellness, wine and beer. The Co-op also offers a hot bar with daily soup specials and main/side dishes for take-away. There is a deli where one can get sandwiches, salads and sushi. Everything is fresh, delicious and there is something for everyone. No time to cook? Their rotisserie chickens smell so good.

“Locally-grown. Community owned.” is the Co-op’s slogan. The fully stocked shelves of over 7,000 items speaks to the vibrant community of local farmers, producers and vendors. The wall of names in the store’s entryway is testimony to those who made the Lovettsville Market Co-op come to fruition. “The last 12 years have been a rollercoaster ride, to say the least. I still have to pinch myself whenever I walk into the store. It’s so much more than I envisioned and hoped for,” said Hignite.

For more information on store hours, specials, membership benefits go to, https://lovettsvillemarket.coop.