Seward Co-op
Twin Cities, Minnesota

Happened upon this place whilst circumnavigating the city by bike on Saturday. We couldn't agree on the perfect late breakfast, so my girlfriend happily settled on every vegan's fallback, avocado on fresh french bread, with packets of dijon mustard. Sure, the place had a ton to choose from, and great looking produce, but this just worked at the time. A fresh squeezed OJ topped it off for me and we were back on the bikes. A quick perusal of the bakery case, showed a lot of vegan baked goods. We both thought they looked a little dry. My g/f is a vegan baker by trade an opined that tofu in place of egg replacer would have cured the dryness, but alas, we opted for another route. We'll try them next time to be sure.

While I shop at The Wedge more often (entirely due to its proximity to my home), Seward Co-op's prices have me reconsidering things.

The prices on produce of all types seems consistently and significantly lower at Seward than at The Wedge (today, for example, Seward is selling avocados for $0.89 a piece, whereas The Wedge is selling them for $1.49 a piece).

Similarly, prices on other items such as Field Roast mockmeats and Seeds of Change pasta sauce, are on average 10-20% lower than at The Wedge.

So, price-wise, Seward wins hands down. But in terms of selection, The Wedge offers many more varieties of non-dairy milk brands, yogurts, ice creams and bulk dry produce (such as nuts, grains and rice). Also, The Wedge has better vegan baked goods and hot cooked foods and sandwiches, in addition to a larger selection.

But I like that Seward has a little cafe/dine-in area to sit and eat or chat, which is something that The Wedge sorely lacks. The community aspect of The Wedge is missing.

In summary, Seward is definitely cheaper, edgier and less corporate than The Wedge. But in terms of selection and (sometimes) quality and variety, The Wedge wins. We'll see what happens when Seward moves to its new, larger location.