The pizza restaurant (gourmet pizza, not crap) around the corner where I live is workers owned. The previous owner went bankrupt and left his employees hanging out to dry, so they took ownership of the place. Not sure about the legal situation (e.g. whether they bought the restaurant from the owner or what) but it's been workers owned for the past few years and doing well, judging by how full it always is. I eat and…
Can a worker-owned restaurant work?
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Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?
#232Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Hey we can't pay workers $250/hr without raises prices to above what customers are willing to pay There are restaurants that charge north of 800$ per person which are always fully booked half a year in advance with glowing reviews even from the worst critics hellbent on being negative. You certainly can pay workers $250 an hour without raising prices above what customers are willing to pay depending on the product.…
Well, Noma can charge customers up to $1500 per person and average worker is paid around $50/ hr. Masa Sushi charges $1000/ person and hourly worker pay is $20. There maybe a rare one but I don't know of a restaurants that charges $1K / person can pay worker $250.
Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?
#233Indian coffee house is a worker owned restaurant chain in India. It has been operating for last 65 years.
Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?
#234Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?
#235Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?
#236Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
#237The pizza restaurant (gourmet pizza, not crap) around the corner where I live is workers owned. The previous owner went bankrupt and left his employees hanging out to dry, so they took ownership of the place. Not sure about the legal situation (e.g. whether they bought the restaurant from the owner or what) but it's been workers owned for the past few years and doing well, judging by how full it always is. I eat and…
Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?
#238It can, but it will have problem scaling - If the business grows and starts needing management skills beyond what a cook or a waiter would have, you will have trouble hiring a qualified manager for same wages you pay to waiters - If you need a loan to expand, lender is likely to want some control over how a restaurant is run rather than leaving it up to workers If you are content to stay at a small scale where these…
Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?
#239One thing that I never understood was, if an employees wages are tied to the success of the company, would that not incentivize better work ethic as a whole? That is how it works in the start-up world. You get equity, you have literally invested in the company, and you know that your work should (in theory) directly benefit you financially. Instead we end up in a system where the employee/employer relationship is inh…
Re: Can a worker-owned restaurant work?
#240The pizza restaurant (gourmet pizza, not crap) around the corner where I live is workers owned. The previous owner went bankrupt and left his employees hanging out to dry, so they took ownership of the place. Not sure about the legal situation (e.g. whether they bought the restaurant from the owner or what) but it's been workers owned for the past few years and doing well, judging by how full it always is. I eat and…
The sibling commenter's example of Zachary's is similarly the product of entrepreneurs who got it started https://zacharys.com/about-us/our-story/