On July 18th, 2002 Oneida Nation opened what is considered to be the first cooperatively owned grocery store on an American Indian reservation in Wisconsin. The project is the culmination of several years of planning and the coordination of three funding sources. USDA Rural Development provided $460,180.00 of Rural Business Enterprise Grant funds to the Oneida Tribe to capitalize a revolving loan fund for business development. The tribe used this capital to lend funds to Tower Foods for construction and operational needs. USDA also provided technical assistance to the Tribe in order to launch the cooperative organization that was formed to operate the store.

The Department of Energy provided a $20,000.00 grant to provide solar energy to help power the 6,000 square foot facility. The balance of the project which totals over $700,000.00 was funded by The Oneida Tribe.

The project has significant support from the community and is a reflection of the cooperative ideals demonstrated by the Oneida Tribe.