Food Front, the customer-owned cooperative located in northwest Portland, is giving serious consideration to opening a grocery in the soon-to-be-closed Hillsdale Wild Oats space.

Meanwhile, some Hillsdale Wild Oats customers have launched a phone-in campaign to Trader Joe's to encourage the company to open a Hillsdale store.

Wild Oats clerks are telling customers that the store will close Saturday, Oct. 13.

Food Front's general manager Holly Jarvis said that the co-op, which has only one store, is on the verge of conducting a feasibility study and market analysis for a Hillsdale location.

The relatively small size of the Hillsdale Store is not a disadvantage, she said. Neighborhood-oriented stores, such as Food Front, don't want large stores. "The size is right," she said. "We are interested in serving local communities."

Hillsdale is particularly attractive because it is "very cohesive" and has a "self-identity, history and flavor," she added.

At Trader Joe's Monrovia, California, headquarters, spokesperson Alison Mochiguki said Hillsdale is not on the firm's two-year list for expansion. She would not comment on how many calls the company, which has 283 stores, has received from Hillsdale, but callers were told today by receptionists that between 40 and 50 calls have been received, which is a high volume. There have also been e-mails requesting a Trader Joe's in Hillsdale.

An anonymous flier available at the Hillsale Post office encourages backers of a Trader Joe's at the site to call the company at 1-800-395-1950.

Jarvis at Food Front called the Hillsdale Farmers Market a "huge attraction" for Food Front. "We buy directly from local growers year 'round," she said. The farmers market would draw attention to locally grown produce in the Food Front store and would also bring new growers to Food Front.

She said Food Front might also buy produce at the end of each farmers market so that less food has to be trucked back to the farms.

Food Front, which has 3000 members, is located at 2375 NW Thurman St. Each member owns a single share costing $150. The payment can be made at the rate of $5 a month until it is paid off. Members are entitled to various discounts and receive dividends when profits allow.

Jarvis said that the store's stated purpose is a good fit for Hillsdale. It reads: "As a consumer cooperative, Food Front builds from the vision of its owners to strengthen and extend the social fabric by democratizing capital ownership (social, natural and economic) to create a sustainable community."

Several Food Front members live in Southwest Portland and have contacted Jarvis and Food Front's board about starting a store in Hillsdale.

If the feasibility study and market survey are positive and the Food Front board decides to move forward, a lease or sub-lease agreement would have to be worked out. In the interests of minimizing the time the store is closed, Food Front would like to negotiate to buy the store's equipment from Wild Oats, recently purchased by its competitor Whole Foods.

Jarvis said Food Front is in an excellent financial position to move forward. The co-op, which has been in business for more than 30 years, owns its Thurman Street store. "The physical asset gives us financial leverage," Jarvis said. Moreover, Food front is "in an excellent cash position," she said.

She invited potential patrons of a Hillsdale Food Front to visit the Thurman Street store and, if they desire, to e-mail the Food Front board at board@foodfront.coop to support the Hillsdale expansion.

In the meantime, the board will be informally polling current Food Front members for their views.

John Braidwood, speaking for the owners of the property, said they have received several inquiries from grocery interests. The Wardin family is open to hearing what all of them propose. he said. Braidwood is the husband of Ardys Braidwood, the Wardin family member who, along with John Braidwood, manages the center.