A year-old business in Ottawa's Hintonburg neighbourhood says it may be forced to close because of poor sales and is lobbying its casual customers to try to turn things around.

West End Well is a grocery store, café and event space that opened in July 2014 on Wellington Avenue West.

Co-founder Bill Shields said before its opening that it wanted to be a "15, 20, 25 year venture… not a three-year sprint" but Thursday, he told Ottawa Morning's Hallie Cotnam that it may have to close if things don't turn around by the end of summer.

"The disappointment has been pretty intense for a lot of us. It's been a lot of work for about three years before we opened then a really hard year," he said.

"There's disappointment but there's also bewilderment."

Shields said they're losing as much as $15,000 to $20,000 a month, which isn't sustainable for them.

As a co-op, they do sell memberships for $50 that give a say in how the co-op is run (memberships aren't needed to shop there).

Shields said some of their members are regular shoppers at West End Well, but they're focusing on changing the habits of others who don't shop as often as he would like.

"We have a core of members who shop here regularly every month, spending around $150 a month which is what we would have expected. Then there's about 200 members who come here once a month and spend very little.Then there's a group of members who come here every three months. Then there's a group who are sort of well-wishers from afar," he said.

"What we need to do in the short term is convert that second (group) to people who will shop here regularly."

Asking for customers to spend $150 a month

Shields said they're mailing and phoning every member to say they need their support, amounting to spending around $150 a month, or they can't keep going.

"We've developed this strategy we implemented this week… of saying to those folks 'look, if we collectively want this to exist we have to make a commitment,'" he said.

"We're not asking you to spend more money than you have now and we're not asking you to spend all your grocery money here."

Matt Whitehead, president of the Hintonburg Community Association, says the area has plenty of cafés, places to buy food and event space, but nothing that's all of the above like West End Well. (CBC/Andrew Foote)

Both Shields and Hintonburg Community Association president Matt Whitehead said the co-op's unique model and combination of services may still require some promotion and education.

"I don't think there's anything quite like what the Well is in the community, what you can compare it to... I would think the main thing is having more people understand what the well offers," Whitehead said.

Zachary Dayler, executive director of the Wellington West Business Improvement Area, said people say they like having local small businesses around but they have to put their money where their mouth is.

"You go to your son's or daughter's soccer game and you see on the back of their jersey, X local community member's business. Go to any school raffle or charity auction," he said.

"If you have the opportunity to go in and buy groceries, whether that be at the West End Well, whether that be at some other grocer or local store, do it because these are the people who are supporting you."