r/cooperatives • u/Greedy_Yak_3763 • 13d ago

Pros and cons of a cooperative business

what are the pros and cons of a restaurant owned by a cooperative, and if there’s any cons, how will i come up with a solution. Thanks

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u/coopnewsguy 9d ago

There are a lot of worker co-op restaurants. There's nothing inherent in the food service industry that makes the model particularly difficult. If you are talking about some other type of co-op owning a restaurant, then you'll want to start off with the idea that your workers are going to join UFCW or some other appropriate union. If it's worker owned, check out the Arizmendi Bakeries and Casa Nueva for good examples of long-functioning co-ops. If it's the latter variety, I'd need to know what kind of co-op is owning the restaurant to give you an example (but do know that you will want and need a unionized work force - it will save you a lot of headache down the road).