Stardew Valley is full of quests and a storyline for you to follow. Often, you must make a decision that could change the course of the game. One of these decisions is choosing to pursue fixing up the Community Center or siding with JojaMart.

Related: Stardew Valley Guide: What You Can Do In Every Area

At the beginning of the game, you're given a choice to either finish bundles at the Community Center or pay for different rewards through JojaMart. It can be a difficult decision, so we are here to help. This guide will go over the pros and cons of each building, helping you make your decision.

Updated March 8, 2023: Whether it's your first time playing through Stardew Valley or you're returning after many playthroughs, making the choice between building the Community Center and supporting JojaMart is one of the biggest decisions you'll make. We've updated this guide for clarity to help you make this important choice.

How Do You Choose To Build The Community Center?

The Community Center is a big building just North of Pierre's General Store. The building remains locked until Spring 5. Entering the area on this day if it's not rainy (or any day afterward) will trigger a cutscene with mayor Lewis, who unlocks the building for you. This will begin the 'Rat Problem' quest. After completion, the Community Center will be available to you.

The Pros Of Unlocking The Community Center

Once the community center is available, you will be able to unlock different rooms that contain bundles. In total, there are six rooms. Additionally, each room has smaller bundles that provide individual rewards. Let's go over the rewards for each bundle.

Related: Stardew Valley: A Guide To Completing The Community Center

The Cons Of Repairing The Community Center

The main downside of working with the Junimos instead of letting JojaMart buy up the Community Center is that you have to collect so many unique items by doing a variety of tasks. You can't just focus on one income source and optimize it until you're making money like it's nothing.

It's designed to force you to fish at different times of day and in different seasons, to raise different animals, and to try to grow high-quality crops (among many other things). This is purposeful, to get new players to experience everything that the game has to offer, but it can become tedious quickly for seasoned veterans.

What Happens When You Complete The Community Center?

Overall, there are a lot of rewards from the Community Center. What happens when you finish it, though?

After finishing the Community Center, there will be a reopening ceremony with all the townspeople. With the building complete, JojaMart will go out of business, and the location will transform into an abandoned lot that you can turn into a movie theatre. You will be able to purchase tickets and invite people to watch a movie with you. To build the theater, you'll need to complete an additional bundle as well.

Additionally, Pierre's General Store will then be open on Wednesdays, and the schedule of many people will now involve visiting the Community Center. For example, the blacksmith will be closed on Fridays because Clint spends all day at the center.

How Do You Choose To Build A JojaMart Warehouse?

Instead of finishing the Community Center, you can also choose to pursue helping JojaMart. To begin the JojaMart story, all you have to do is visit JojaMart and talk to Morris. He will offer a membership to the store for 5,000g. Accepting this will convert the Community Center into a Joja warehouse.

The Pros Of Opening A JojaMart Warehouse

Instead of donating different resources for bundles, you will pay for each reward. Below are the rewards and prices.

The Cons of Opening A JojaMart Warehouse

Completing the major community projects this way will not provide the smaller rewards that are given from the Community Center. In total, you will have to spend 135,000g to purchase all the bundles. Only one bundle can be purchased at a time. However, once purchased, it will be completed the next day.

What Happens When You Open A JojaMart Warehouse?

After the bundles are paid for, you will receive your own soda machine, which gives one Joja Cola a day. Additionally, you will be able to purchase the Auto-Petter, which prevents animals from losing friendship.

Which Option Is Better?

Looking at these two options side by side, they seem to give similar rewards. The Community Center gives more small rewards, but each main reward is the same. Additionally, the movie theater is available through both.

How Do They Play Into The Story?

• The Community Center also offers a rich story that values friendship and happiness. The bundles are also meant to bring you closer together with the people of Pelican Town. After finishing all six bundles, the town gathers in the Community Center to kick Joja out of town.
• Choosing the JojaMart route seems like falling back into your old ways. Remember the opening scene of the game? You used to be a mindless worker for Joja, before moving to Pelican Town for a fresh start. Choosing to complete tasks for JojaMart may result in a story that doesn't feel as 'full'. You will not experience the town coming together.

How Do They Impact The Gameplay?

• The Community Center offers specific goals for you to follow. When a bundle asks for something that can only be found in one season if there is rain, that becomes a goal. In total, you will need to gather dozens of items. These bundles create goals, allowing you to explore different items in the game.
• With JojaMart though, you don't have to focus on different items. Instead, you could just mass produce a high-selling item. The goals are less structured with the JojaMart route. Instead of planning different times to fish or forage, the goal is just 'make money.'

Should You Choose The Community Center Or JojaMart?

• It is a good idea to choose the Community Center for your first game. If you are just now diving into Stardew Valley, the Community Center will provide you with an experience to learn more about the game.
• If you have been playing Stardew Valley for a while and don't really care about the story anymore then go for JojaMart! Choosing JojaMart is great for those who want to focus on making the best, most high-profit farm. Although choosing JojaMart may not be as satisfying, it is still content in the game that should be experienced at least once.

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