It was founded in May 2010 by Arthur Potts Dawson with regeneration advisor/entrepreneur David Barrie and retail specialist Kate Wickes-Bull, supported by a team of supporters and professional advisors, in Lamb's Conduit Street, Holborn, London, England, near Great Ormond Street Hospital.

[citation needed] Based upon the concept of the food co-operative and inspired in part by the Park Slope Food Coop in the Park Slope neighbourhood of Brooklyn in New York City, members of the social enterprise are required to pay a £25 annual fee and contribute four hours of their time every four weeks to working in the store.

[2] The supermarket provides the area of Holborn, London, with a unique combination of grocery store, production kitchen and events, such as supper clubs.

[3] It formed part of and supported the development of Lamb's Conduit Street, Holborn, which has featured the arrival of independent fashion shops and a branch of global brand J.Crew.

In 2011, it was visited by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, as a flagship of the Big Society initiative.