May Day Cafe reopens in Minneapolis as worker-owned cooperative
May Day Café reopens in Minneapolis as co-op
A mainstay in the Powderhorn neighborhood of south Minneapolis has reopened under new ownership – the worker-owners who are now running it as a co-op. FOX 9’s Maury Glover has the story.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A mainstay in the heart of the Powderhorn neighborhood is back in business.
Busy from open to close
What we know:
Whether it's for baked goods or internet access, D. Rojas has been coming to this neighborhood coffee shop every day since it opened nearly three decades ago.
But she says it’s the dawn of a new day at the May Day Cafe.
"It’s fantastic. I think that the café should take off. It was packed this morning for the grand opening" said Rojas.
History of co-ops
The backstory:
Each of the five worker-owners also contributed some of their own money, but their real investment will be the blood, sweat and tears they pour into the café now that they own it.
"I'm just really excited to be a part of it and to demonstrate that this model works, and it can be a way for people to feel more agency and power in their workplace and have the opportunity to make changes," said worker-owner Mira Klein.
The new owners say before it became a café, the space was a co-op grocery store in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, so returning it to a worker-owned cooperative is going back to the building's roots.
"It has a really long and storied history and a really important place for a lot of people in this neighborhood," said Klein.
Go-to gathering place
What they're saying:
For the employee-owners, keeping the counter-culture café in the neighborhood is a labor of love, and the show of support from their community gives them hope their passion project will succeed.
"The May Day Cafe is going to live on. Powderhorn love," said Rojas.
The only change customers will notice is the café will now open a half hour earlier, at 7 a.m., and close an hour and a half earlier, at 4:30 p.m.
It will be open seven days a week.