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Can a worker-owned restaurant work?

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Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?

#221

Post by chaos_emergent »

roughly wrote: post #161
aaronbrethorst wrote: post #65

The Seward Cafe in Minneapolis has running successfully as a "cooperatively owned, collectively operated restaurant and community-oriented venue" for 49 years. https://www.sewardcafe.com

Cheeseboard in Berkeley has been a successful co-op since 1971: https://cheeseboardcollective.coop/ I always enjoy these kinds of articles - "Could this radical new way of doing things ever succeed?" where the "radical new way" has a history going back to before the Reagan revolution. We're a really kind of unimaginative people when it comes to talking about how one arranges things in society.

Have you read David Graeber's "The Dawn of Everything"? It touches on similar themes to:

> We're a really kind of unimaginative people when it comes to talking about how one arranges things in society

by asking "how did we get that way?"

Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?

#222

Post by asdff »

This model really should be expanded to just about everything. Revenue per employee ratio at Apple is $2.4 million a person or so. If that company were to shift from the present shareholder model to a cooperative model, its not hard to imagine labor seeing some substantial gains. Having more money in the part of the economy that actually circulates more of their income would probably bring on wider economic benefits as well, compared to the present where some of that revenue might go on to be parked in unproductive, perhaps even unhelpful, speculative investments like gold or oil.

Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?

#223

Post by bscphil »

danielheath wrote: post #118
p1necone wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Somehow finances have to work, which is usually a harsh reality for some. Ex: Hey we can't pay workers $250/hr without raises prices to above what customers are willing to pay If it was worker owned wouldn't you just pay everyone some reasonable wage that the business can afford and then also split profits evenly?

It’s challenging to retain senior staff at those rates; there’s a limit to how much of a cut I’ll take to work at a cooperative.

I mean, it's usually part of the premise of "worker owned" that there's going to be a heavy reduction in what you might kindly call administrative staff.

Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?

#224

Post by ajkjk »

tech_ken wrote: post #178
ajkjk wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not if they wait to raise the rent until after they have a tenant who has a large cost to move already.

Don't most leases prohibit rent hikes for some period of time though?

Well yes but then the lease ends and that's when they get you.

Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?

#225

Post by brnaftr361 »

epgui wrote: post #76

Answer: yes. It’s what teamshares.com does.

I don't think it's fair to say that. Teamshares will sell up to 80% to the employees. Many worker-owned cooperatives have laws specifying that shares can only be exchanged internally. Teamshares isn't particularly transparent on their actual structure.

So for instance, an employee(s) might sell their shares back to Teamshares or another agency, at which point the worker agency is diminished. Particularly in the former case.

Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?

#226

Post by bscphil »

gokhan wrote: post #206
ccheney wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

also Hell's Kitchen (since 2020), downtown MPLS https://www.hellskitcheninc.com/#about-us-employee-owned-sec...

"All dine-in checks include a 15% service charge, and all to-go, delivery and curbside pick-up orders include a 20% service charge. 100% of these charges are distributed to our employees in order to keep compensation as fair as possible to everyone" I guess this is mentioned on the page to signal that menu price is the final, no need to tip? US' tipping culture is so strange. Normally you don't need to mention anythi…

I've been to restaurants that do this, and the menu price typically does not cover service charges, unfortunately. You just expect to see it tacked on the check.

Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?

#227

Post by TylerE »

hot_gril wrote: post #184
exabrial wrote: post #88

Yes, absolutely, but there are pitfalls: * Somehow finances have to work, which is usually a harsh reality for some. Ex: Hey we can't pay workers $250/hr without raises prices to above what customers are willing to pay * Consumers despite "Least common denominator" which is often the result of "design by committee". Usually consumers are after something niche, unique, artistic, and creative, which is the inspiration…

Here's the reduced-down version: You get some stake for free when you join, it entitles you to a fraction of the profits while you're there, and you lose it if you quit or get voted off the island according to some bylaws. Stake also gives you voting power for hiring new employees (including managers), and how much stake to give them. And nobody can buy shares, especially those who aren't employees. To simplify thing…

Sounds like a great way to turn a business into even more of a hyper-politicized environment than it already is. It becomes not about what you can do, but who you make like you.

Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?

#228

Post by greenie_beans »

Gaessaki wrote: post #167
raybb wrote: post #61

If anyone wants to start a coop there is an accelerator for them based in NYC called start.coop. I've joined a few of their calls and it seems like they're pushing for pretty great stuff. https://www.start.coop/accelerator Also in NYC is "The Drivers Cooperative" which is Uber but owned by drivers and they're doing pretty well so far (based on the last annual report). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Drivers_Coopera…

Our coop took part in start.coop. Open to answering questions from anyone interested in starting a cooperative startup!

how does outside investment work - do they just get a share of the profits, similar to worker-owners but without voting rights?

and what about sweat equity - how do founders get compensated for starting the thing and working for free?

Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?

#229

Post by opportune »

xwdv wrote: post #86
sharts wrote: post #80

Worker-owned anything can work. It's democracy in the workplace.

It’s a hellish concept. The workers relationship to the company becomes less transactional, and they get all the stress of owning a business but without the outsized profits.

They don’t get all the stress of owning a business per-se because they most likely vote on a CEO/a council to handle that. Just like the Walmart heirs aren’t stressed about owning a business because they vote on a CEO to do that part, or how you as a voting citizen don’t get all the stress of running a country.

It is true though that an employee will be much more personally invested in that kind of voting than a typical investor given that’s they essentially can’t diversify like an investor can, without being so rich that they make more from investments than working anyway. And that they may choose to give themselves the option of direct democracy to varying degrees instead of representative democracy. In a standard white collar corporate environment that could kick up workplace politics to insane levels.

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