Michael Kalmanovitch has owned Earth's General Store on Whyte Avenue for 18 years. (CBC)

An Edmonton business owner is relocating his store from a second-storey location on Whyte Avenue to a larger, newer location further east thanks to nearly $100,000 he raised from his customers and friends.

"I was able to borrow a little bit of money from the bank but I knew banks would never lend me the kind of money that I needed for this," said Michael Kalmanovitch, owner of Earth's General Store, which has been in business for 18 years.

Kalmanovitch wanted to move so he'd have the room to sell local organic produce, dairy, meat and dry goods in addition to the environmentally friendly cleaning solutions, housewares, clothing and personal care products he already sells.

Five months ago, he started asking for loans from his customers as well as friends and people he knows in the Edmonton activist community.

"[I] said listen, 'This is what I would like to do. Would you be interested in ... pledging some money to support me to do this?'" he said.

Some people pledged $20, others as much as $5,000. Customers will be repaid through discounts on future purchases.

"For a long time, I've sort of felt some sense of ownership in Earth's and now it was nice to actually put that ... feeling into a monetary value on a cheque," said long-time customer Scott Harris.

Now that Kalmanovitch has raised close to $100,000, renovations have started on a former Chinese restaurant at 96th Street and Whyte Avenue, about 2.5 kilometres east of his old location.

The new location is slated to open in October.