The name "New Leaf Market" is gone, but the organic grocery store itself remains — as does its loyal staff.

New Leaf, which began in the 1970s and has struggled financially in recent years, sold all its inventory and fixtures to another start-up cooperative grocer last month. The store became the newly-incorporated "Community Co-op Market" (CCM) on Jan. 1. The sale price was not disclosed.

The new business is supported by National Co-op Grocers' (NGC) Development Co+operative, a national business advisory group for co-operative grocers.

Customer memberships at the new marketplace cost $100 and former New Leaf Market members receive a 50% discount, the store says. Members will have two-thirds ownership, board seats and voting rights. The other third belongs to the investor.

NGC Development Co+operative CEO C.E. Pugh on Thursday said the Apalachee Parkway store is "basically the same," just with different higher-up management.

Three board members will be from the investing group and six board members will be from the community, according to meeting minutes from a Dec. 28 New Leaf owners' meeting. Pugh is one of the three investor members.

His group plans to put as much as $700,000 into store renovations some time in March, Pugh said. This includes new paint, flooring and signage.

After that, the store will begin a marketing campaign through social media, mailers and other initiatives.

New Leaf customers don't need to fear the loss of a community grocer. Not much will change inside the building at first, Pugh said, though shelves will be better stocked. All employees will remain.

Pugh added that one of the store's first priorities is to figure out how to offer more affordable options in each category, naming tea bags and eggs as two examples.

"Right now, our cheapest egg is too expensive," he said.

In a press release, Rosemary Mahoney — chair of the National Co-op Grocers' Development Co+operative's board — acknowledged New Leaf's many decades serving Tallahassee.

"We are happy that CCM will maintain a co-op in the area," she said, pointing to how the store supports local farmers, produces jobs and encourages community engagement.

New Leaf began as the Leon County Food Cooperative, a healthy food alternative. In 2010, the store's revenue peaked at $13 million. But those salad days wouldn't last as competitors such as Whole Foods, Earth Fare, Trader Joe's came to Tallahassee and jockeyed for market space.

In an effort to bolster revenue, the New Leaf board voted to open a second location in the Bannerman Crossings shopping center on Tallahassee's north side in 2016. The location folded the next year.

According to the December meeting minutes, "the bank should retire (New Leaf's) debt" once the sale was made final. The estimated cost of repaying that debt was about $5 million, which included store repairs and improvements.

The former co-op, which now exists only on paper, expects to still owe roughly $200,000 after the sale, "excluding liability to landlord and owner lenders," the minutes say.

"It's the same great people," Pugh said. "Very quickly, shelves will fill back up."

Contact CD Davidson-Hiers at CDavidsonH@Tallahassee.com, or follow her on Twitter @DavidsonHiers