The Yahara River Grocery Co-op in Stoughton is going to try to stay open, and it's getting a big assist from friends on Madison's Near East Side.

Willy Street Co-op has announced that it will donate a manager to the Stoughton co-op, which has been struggling since opening earlier this year.

Wynston Estis is an assistant manager at Willy Street Co-op and has been with the organization for 17 years. The 34-year-old co-op is one of the most successful in the country and has more than 14,000 members.

"I'm thrilled. Absolutely thrilled," said Myra Hajny, president of the Yahara River Grocery Co-op. "I think it will give it the shot in the arm we've been hoping for."

Estis was tapped to manage Willy Street Co-op's second store, but that store was put on hold earlier this year because of financial problems at Metropolitan Place, at the corner of West Mifflin and North Broom streets, where the store was scheduled to open.

The announcement came Tuesday at a meeting of about 100 members of the Stoughton co-op who had gathered at the Stoughton Senior Center to discuss ways to improve the 945-member co-op and keep it open.

The co-op opened in March after two years of fundraisers and community input, but losses have come quickly.

With nine paid employees, most of them part time, the store is losing an estimated $2,500 a week. The $50,000 in a reserve fund has been spent and the $400,000 loaned to the co-op to buy shelving, refrigeration and freezer units and inventory, needs to be paid back to the bank.

Members brainstormed ideas Tuesday that included changing the facade of the co-op, located in Stoughton's downtown; changing the product mix, and increasing bulk items and locally produced foods.

The co-op is also applying for a $30,000 grant from Dane County Planning & Development, but members would have to raise $30,000 in matching funds to qualify.

Estis, whose salary will be paid by Willy Street Co-op, will be on loan to Stoughton for one to four months as the co-op searches for a general manager. Estis will be charged with implementing some of the suggestions that came out of Tuesday's meeting.

Mike Markin, who had been the general manager and helped open the store, was fired earlier this month and the store's assistant manager is leaving at the end of this week.

One of Estis' biggest jobs will be to get more members

to shop at the 2,500-square-foot store. Only about a third of the co-op's members

shop there, and those who do spend on average about $20 a visit.

The store sells both organic and nonorganic foods but does not have a fresh-meat counter or deli. Produce, dairy and bulk dry goods are among the popular items sold but the prices may be too steep for some, officials say.

"We haven't set a deadline (to determine the store's future) but the next three to four months are going to be very crucial," said Norma Sampson, vice president of the co-op's board. "They came up with some good suggestions and it was good to see people working on this."