MIDDLETON, Wis. -- A downtown Madison favorite will soon get a sister location in a nearby city.

Willy Street Co-Op signed a 15-year lease with the city of Middleton in March.

The second store will be located at University Avenue and Park Street, where Walgreens used to be.

Supporters gathered Saturday at the future Willy Street West site to welcome their new neighbor.

It wasn’t just the sweet smell of food drawing in Middleton residents.

"It only took us 10 minutes to get here walking, and we've been wanting a grocery store here in our neighborhood for years," said resident Laura Guse.

Guse always wanted to shop for groceries at the Will Street Co-Op downtown but couldn’t stomach the drive.

"It's just too far away. When I’m going to the grocery store, I have a limited amount of time. I can go to Woodman's in 10 minutes versus taking half an hour to get across town," she said.

Soon she won’t have to as the Willy Street is set to open in October. Co-op officials said it is all an effort to fill the area’s appetite for organic and local food.

"For years we've gotten responses on our surveys and customer comments and people saying, ‘Please, please open a store on the west side," said Brendon Smith, Willy Street Co-Op communications director.

The need is big, said Mayor Kurt Sonnentag, since Middleton is down to just a couple major grocery stores.

"There are so many Middleton residents that already drive outside the city to buy groceries. I mean, there's any number of places they can go to in Madison," said Sonnentag.

After a tasty snack, residents took a look around the store they’ll soon be filling up their grocery carts.

“We've been hoping that something good would come in the empty space, because you hate to see a storefront sit empty, and something like this that was so community-centered was just a bonus," said Guse.

In order to open Willy West by this fall, co-op officials are holding a bond drive to help finance the construction. They hope to sell $600,000 worth of bonds by May 26, 60 days after their lease signing.

The co-op board said if they raise this money, it will be the last major hurdle cleared before the store opens in October.