Dan Gillotte, Wheatsville Exec, Quits Over Video Controversy

AUSTIN, TX — The chief executive grocer of Wheatsville Food Co-op — self-described as the state's sole grocery cooperative with two Austin locations — has resigned after a video of him singing racially insensitive lyrics emerged, Patch learned on Thursday.

Dan Gillotte voluntarily resigned late Wednesday as the cooperative's board determined his fate after placing him on suspension, Patch was told. The resignation capped two days of meetings by board members that stretched into late evening hours as they determined their course of action, according to a well-placed source.

Video recently emerged of Gillotte singing with ukulele accompaniment to a song titled "Condoms Over Combs: White Girl Showing Black Dude Around The Grocery Store." Posted some years past, the video taken down from YouTube shortly after its emergence only to be resurrected on social media by community members calling for Gillotte's ouster.

By Thursday evening, Patch secured a copy of Gillotte's letter to his fellow staff members alerting them of his decision to resign as Wheatsville's chief executive grocer (CEG):

Dear Wheatsville staff, I love Wheatsville and the co-op community with all my heart. It has literally been my life's work to help Wheatsville grow and succeed, to help foster better people and a better world and to learn and grow as a person and a professional myself. And so it's with a heavy heart that I say goodbye as the CEG of Wheatsville. Resigning from Wheatsville is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. But ultimately, my love and care for this great community grocery is why I decided to resign so that Wheatsville can recover from the recent tumult and bad feelings as wholly and as quickly as possible. I apologize again most sincerely to anyone I've let down or disappointed with any of my actions at the co-op or beyond. I'm so proud of what Wheatsville has accomplished since 1998 and I expect that all the wonderful, positive impact will continue but it won't be easy. The new leadership (in the interim and long term) will need all of you to pull together and demonstrate all the great qualities we care about of being friendly, high achieving, positive and cooperative. Helping Wheatsville be the friendliest stores in town is truly something we can all take great pride in and I look forward to seeing your friendly faces as a shopper in the coming weeks or months (not 7 days a week, like usual, I promise). Getting to work with so many great Wheatsvillagers over the years never got old and all the happy people and days we made will always live in my heart like a gift. I remain optimistic and still a believer that Wheatsville can help create more local, organic, sustainable food, a robust cooperative economy and more happy people in the coming years. So, goodbye as Wheatsville's leader, keep that co-op economy thriving, OK?
Yours truly and in cooperation, Dan Gillotte

Related story: Wheatsville Exec Under Fire For Racially Insensitive Video

In response to a request from Patch, the Wheatsville board of directors provided the following statement:

"Last night, the Wheatsville Board of Directors accepted the voluntary resignation Co-op’s Chief Executive Grocer, Dan Gillotte.

"This action is not entirely a surprise given recent events, yet that doesn’t make this easy. It is also not an action we celebrate; Dan has been an important and valued Co-op employee for more than 20 years. During that time he has become a tremendous leader in the cooperative business community, and we know he will take that expertise with him on his future personal and professional journeys.

"We thank Dan for putting the Co-op family first. We wish him the best as we all strive to learn from these experiences. As we look ahead, we are committed more than ever to our mission, and dedicated to creating a community that makes us all proud."

Reaction to Gillotte's video was swift and robust, including a petition that was circulated calling for him to be fired quickly securing some 300 signatures. Patch spoke to a handful of Wheatsville employees expressing disapproval of Gillotte's video — created some years back before emerging publicly only recently — who suggested the musical expression was in contrast to the cooperative's tactics of inclusion enshrined in the cooperative's bylaws.

Formed in 1976, Wheatsville is a full-service, natural foods cooperative grocery store offering organic produce, meat, dairy and other products. It's the only retail food cooperative in Texas, with more than 21,000 invested owners, according to its website. Dues-paying customers dubbed "owners" receiving membership cards have the option of participating in some of the cooperative's machinations, including voting in board elections.

Wheatsville operates two stores in Austin, the original location at 3101 Guadalupe St. and one opened in 2013 at 4001 S. Lamar Blvd.

Editor's note: The author is a Wheatsville "owner" and frequent shopper at the Guadalupe Store location.