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New Grange Co-op grand opening is Friday By Buffy Pollock Updated: Dec 05, 2022 05:38 PM A A A new Grange Co-op is under construction in White City. [Jamie Lusch / Mail Tribune] A brand spanking new Grange Co-op location in White City will open — officially — this Friday. After a handful of delays this past year, Grange Co-op officials met their goal of opening the new store — the Co-op’s second-largest — by the end of the calendar year. The store’s grand-opening weekend — complete with festivities and giveaways — is set to run Friday through Sunday, Dec. 9-11, with a soft opening Tuesday, Dec. 6, beginning at 9 a.m. Jason Wall, marketing manager for Grange Co-op, said the new location, at 7700 Crater Lake Highway, provides a much-needed upgrade for customers in the Upper Rogue area. The new location could house the previous White City store two times over. The new location will feature a Mellelo Coffee kiosk in the main store area — a first for both Grange Co-op and Mellelo — as well as a large training center for employees, and two do-it-yourself dog-wash stations. Grange Co-op business offices will relocate from the company’s distribution center on Highway 99 in Medford. The new store features more than 22,000 square feet of retail space and an outdoor garden space of 15,500 square feet. A new drive-thru warehouse will allow purchases to be made directly from a customer’s vehicle. “This area is an agriculture hub in Southern Oregon,” said Wall. “There was a big need for an increase of our farm and ranch, nursery, clothing, garden and pet product lines, and the larger space will help customers get the products they desire without requiring them to travel to our other locations in Medford or Central Point.” The grand opening will include free “swag bags” for the first 100 customers, raffle prizes, holiday activities for kids (including photos with Santa) and fundraising opportunities for local FFA chapters. In addition to familiar faces from the old White City location, 10 additional staff members had been hired, Wall said. Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 541-776-8784 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.