Looks like a great project! I'm pretty familiar with worker coops (I'm a political scientist who studies them). Some questions, in no particular order: 1) Your model sounds a lot like Arizmendi in the SF Bay Area (based in Oakland -- full disclosure: my dad was a co-founder). ...

Hi Mark, Thanks so much for your questions! Our answers to them below: 1) Yes, we are very familiar with Arizmendi. Our Founder and Board Chair Jason Wiener has studied their model for 10+ years. 2) Jason works very closely with USFWC and DAWI. He has been retained by USFWC for a project, and his law firm has been a member for 8+ years. He is one of the participants in the DAWI-stewarded Workers 2 Owners collaborative, and has also worked with many DAWI work streams for years. 3) Workers woul...

How is the Co-op revenue share paid out to the investors? Do we have a choice in what class to invest in?

Hi Yoshimi, Thanks for your question. All WeFunder investors become Class B investor-members and receive dividends out of free cash flow up to 1x the original investment. Dividends begin accruing 12 months following the closing of the investment. Once a 2x dividend allocation cap has been reached, the co-op will begin making distributions back to investors up to 2x the original purchase price. Please see the investment documents on the campaign page for a more thorough summary.

Main Street Phoenix Workers Co-op

We turn local restaurants into worker-owned coops

Pitch Video

Investor Panel

mainstreet.coop

Denver, CO

Food & Beverage Restaurant

Investor Panel

Nicole interviewed Main Street Phoenix Workers Co-op on December 2, 2021. Play Video

Nicole Walker

I am passionate about enabling others to develop and test ideas. I am a Corporate Innovator, Mompreneur, and Angel Investor!

Strengths

says, "Very unique business model and value proposition. I love the social mission aspect."

Advice

says, "Continue to refine the value proposition pitch from a an employee perspective so it is tighter and removes any single point of failure."

What Investors Say

Gary Community Ventures

LEAD INVESTOR

Invested $50,000 this round

Gary Community Ventures partners with our community to leverage business, policy and philanthropy to reshape the arc of opportunity for Colorado kids and families. We are proud to support Mainstreet Phoenix as they demonstrate a fundamentally new business model in the restaurant industry -- one that pushes back against the pandemic and ongoing gentrification by safeguarding local, diverse workers, expanding healthcare benefits and employee supports, moving away from tip-based pay structures, and ultimately inviting workers to participate as owners in profit-sharing and organizational leadership. This is an important opportunity to prove that we can better value workers and run sustainable businesses that help families thrive.

What People Say

Main Street Phoenix Workers Co-op

Quick facts

Team profiles

Featured investor profiles

$299,761

Investor Panel

What Investors Say