Collective cafe 30 years strong

Collectively run restaurant, Seward Community Cafe, turns 30 and is still running strong. Collectives

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (PRWEB) October 8, 2004 -- For thirty years, on October 14th, Seward Community Café has been owned and operated collectively serving food in the Seward Neighborhood of Minneapolis. Normally for any restaurant this is a noteworthy accomplishment but the Seward", as called by its regulars, is not an ordinary restaurant -- its collective management structure makes it unique. Not only does its collective ownership set it apart, but the café also has other features uncommon to traditional businesses -- such as the community garden and greenspace adjacent to the restaurant. The style of service at the Seward is also unique. There is no table service for the able bodied, you pick up a menu when you walk in the door and write out your own order slip. The menu, dominated by nearly all vegetarian and vegan dishes, is reasonably priced -- especially considering many items on the menu are organic. Three nights a week the Seward rents their space to Spokes Pizza Collective, another collective only one year old, that makes pizza and delivers by bike in South Minneapolis. In this way the Seward has been able to help incubate another business.

On October 14, 1974 the café first opened its doors to the public in the midst of the New Wave" co-op movement. Grocery stores like North Country Co-op led the way for the movement, often structuring the ownership and management of their businesses as collectives". The often misunderstood management style referred to as collectivity is still alive and well in the Twin Cities today. Although many of the collectives of the 70s are long gone, there are around 30 collectives currently in the Twin Cities area. An informational web site at www.mncooperate.org provides more information on these groups.

Organizing among collectives
The Federation of Workplace Democracies in Minnesota (FWD-MN), founded earlier this year, is a local organization that provides mutual support between worker cooperatives, collectives, and other democratically-run workplaces. Forward in Minnesota", as its members call it, is one of four such local networks in the U.S. supporting worker owned and operated businesses.

Supporting democratic entrepreneurs
Tom Pierson, a FWD-MN board member and Seward Café collective member, recently received a grant through The Cooperative Foundation in St. Paul to provide support to start-ups and conversion worker cooperatives -- which can include collectives like the Seward. Press release on the grant can be found at www.mncooperate.org

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