Ayako Mizumura, of Lawrence, inspects eggs during a trip to the Community Mercantile, 901 Iowa. Renovations for the store are planned for this summer and will include moving departments and the dining area.

After six years at the corner of Ninth and Iowa streets, the Community Mercantile is ready for a makeover.

In a renovation expected to take place this summer, plans for the co-op grocery store include shuffling the Merc’s departments, upgrading its refrigeration system, improving the dining room and modernizing the entrance to the building.

General manager Jeanie Wells said in 2001 when the store moved from 901 Miss. into a space that had been an IGA grocery store for more than 40 years, the co-op was operating on a shoestring budget. That meant many of the upgrades its members wanted – such as a new and more efficient refrigeration system – had to be put on hold.

But with sales increasing steadily since the move and debt paid off from the last expansion, Wells said, the time is now for the Merc’s new look.

“It is time to reinvest in the facility,” Wells said. “It’s an old building that does need constant love and improvement.”

Much of the changes are based off what the co-op members would like to see, Wells said.

At the top of the wish list is a nicer dining area and quicker access to the deli and bakery. To accommodate those requests, Wells said, the dining room will move to the other side of store and closer to the front entrance.

The co-op’s intent is for the dining room to be more “welcoming,” with a quieter atmosphere and natural light streaming through windows. And, Wells said, she hopes to have an outdoor eating patio.

“It was something really important to the owners,” Wells said.

Another heavily requested item was to move the deli and bakery closer to the dining room and to the front of the store. The two departments will sit next to each other, and a cash register will be there for those just wanting to pick up a quick lunch or dinner.

The Merc also plans to increase the size of its community room by 50 percent, which will allow more people to take the store’s classes.

A behind-the-scenes change will be a new refrigeration system, which is expected to save the store about 25 percent on electricity costs.

Along with keeping produce and groceries cool, the new refrigeration system will use leftover heat to warm up the entire building’s water supply.

Wells admits that some of the changes are to keep pace with the competition. Part of the Merc’s roots stem back to the mid-1990s when the store barely survived the arrival of the national chain natural food store Wild Oats.

“We always have to look at doing things we can do so any competitor looking to get into the market would at least see us as a real, live competitor,” Wells said.

Since the move in 2001, sales have more than doubled at the Merc – from $4 million in 2000 to $9.5 million.