6 ms·

The Seward Cafe in Minneapolis has running successfully as a "cooperatively owned, collectively operated restaurant and community-oriented venue" for 49 years.

The Seward Cafe in Minneapolis has running successfully as a "cooperatively owned, collectively operated restaurant and community-oriented venue" for 49 years. https://www.sewardcafe.com https://www.sewardcafe.com

ccheney 3y ago
also Hell's Kitchen (since 2020), downtown MPLS https://www.hellskitcheninc.com/#about-us-employee-owned-section https://www.hellskitcheninc.com/#about-us-employee-owned-sec...
- PartiallyTyped 3y ago
  I love the vibes :D
- gokhan 3y ago
  "All dine-in checks include a 15% service charge, and all to-go, delivery and curbside pick-up orders include a 20% service charge. 100% of these charges are distributed to our employees in order to keep compensation as fair as possible to everyone" I guess this is mentioned on the page to signal that menu price is the final, no need to tip? US' tipping culture is so strange. Normally you don't need to mention anything, people would pay the menu price and you'd include whatever you'd need for paying the staff. That's how it is in the rest of the world.
  - bscphil 3y ago
    I've been to restaurants that do this, and the menu price typically does not cover service charges, unfortunately. You just expect to see it tacked on the check.
  - midoridensha 3y ago
    A built-in "service charge" is a scam: it just lets the restaurant advertise lower prices than what the meal truly costs. Same goes for not showing the after-tax prices. If they really wanted to "keep compensation as fair as possible to everyone", they'd simply pay them a proper hourly wage, and adjust their prices to suit, instead of making their pay dependent on that day's sales. A lot of US business practices are all about scamming people with deception, and restaurants are the epitome of this.
  - Cthulhu_ 3y ago
    > That's how it is in the rest of the world. Not true; tipping is everywhere, however it's more that it's appreciated instead of expected elsewhere, see https://www.johnlewisfinance.com/currency/tipping-culture-tips-around-the-world.html https://www.johnlewisfinance.com/currency/tipping-culture-ti...
    - zb10948 3y ago
      That list is not correct for Europe/Southern Europe at least. Nobody expects anything. The most tipping is done by rounding up. You have a 1.8 euro bill for coffee, you leave 2 euro. The biggest difference between NA and Europe is that in NA a lot of people work for tips, as in, they're going to try to service you to get them. This is not the way it works in Europe, waiters do appreciate tips especially in places that have lower purchasing power, they will take your order, bring your food, bring your bill, and be on disposal if you want to call them anytime, but they're not going to try to look outgoing and approachable and hassle you with "is everything ok" questions for better tip.
TylerE 3y ago
Green on pink is now my new least favorite color combo. Thanks, I hate it! Edit: I encourage downvoters to actually try to read the linked page before downvoting me. It’s incredibly unreadable.
- dsr_ 3y ago
  MacBook M1, afternoon sunlight behind me but not directly glaring. Brightness is at about 60%. It's readable. It's not great. I've seen a lot worse (slightly dark grey on lighter grey, faded tan on medium blue, cyan on bright green...)
  - TylerE 3y ago
    What about the background pattern that is nearly the same as the text color?
    - SV_BubbleTime 3y ago
      Didn’t you read the part where he is using an M1?
- hex4def6 3y ago
  Their 2012 page (https://web.archive.org/web/20120411013004/http://www.sewardcafe.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20120411013004/http://www.seward...) is significantly more better organized (For instance, address is right in the top right, as is opening hours), and easier to read in general. It also has features like embedding a google map into the page. The new one doesn't tell me an obvious address -- the only one appears to be the handwritten pixelated background image, which is partially blocked on every single page by a foreground photo. I dig retro and minimalistic pages. This is just bad design.
roughly 3y ago
Cheeseboard in Berkeley has been a successful co-op since 1971: https://cheeseboardcollective.coop/ https://cheeseboardcollective.coop/ I always enjoy these kinds of articles - "Could this radical new way of doing things ever succeed?" where the "radical new way" has a history going back to before the Reagan revolution. We're a really kind of unimaginative people when it comes to talking about how one arranges things in society.
- chaos_emergent 3y ago
  Have you read David Graeber's "The Dawn of Everything"? It touches on similar themes to: > We're a really kind of unimaginative people when it comes to talking about how one arranges things in society by asking "how did we get that way?"
  - roughly 3y ago
    Yes! Brilliant book. More folks should read it. I also really enjoyed “Against the Grain” and “Seeing Like a State” by James C Scott - both really dig into social narratives and the ways we talk about history and society.
- talldatethrow 3y ago
  I used to love cheeseboard. After covid, it's like they hate being there. They cut the days open down to 4 a week, short hours, and basically act like they're doing you a favor serving you. But not in a smug way, more like they're an unhappy slave. Ruined some of the charm of the place.
autarch 3y ago
Sort of. They shut down during the pandemic and have only recently rebooted, but apparently with a totally new staff, and they're still figuring out food service. I'm pretty sure they had a lot of financial issues over the years. I used to go there all the time but I always thought there prices were too low.

ccheney 3y ago

also Hell's Kitchen (since 2020), downtown MPLS https://www.hellskitcheninc.com/#about-us-employee-owned-section https://www.hellskitcheninc.com/#about-us-employee-owned-sec...

PartiallyTyped 3y ago
I love the vibes :D
gokhan 3y ago
"All dine-in checks include a 15% service charge, and all to-go, delivery and curbside pick-up orders include a 20% service charge. 100% of these charges are distributed to our employees in order to keep compensation as fair as possible to everyone" I guess this is mentioned on the page to signal that menu price is the final, no need to tip? US' tipping culture is so strange. Normally you don't need to mention anything, people would pay the menu price and you'd include whatever you'd need for paying the staff. That's how it is in the rest of the world.
- bscphil 3y ago
  I've been to restaurants that do this, and the menu price typically does not cover service charges, unfortunately. You just expect to see it tacked on the check.
- midoridensha 3y ago
  A built-in "service charge" is a scam: it just lets the restaurant advertise lower prices than what the meal truly costs. Same goes for not showing the after-tax prices. If they really wanted to "keep compensation as fair as possible to everyone", they'd simply pay them a proper hourly wage, and adjust their prices to suit, instead of making their pay dependent on that day's sales. A lot of US business practices are all about scamming people with deception, and restaurants are the epitome of this.
- Cthulhu_ 3y ago
  > That's how it is in the rest of the world. Not true; tipping is everywhere, however it's more that it's appreciated instead of expected elsewhere, see https://www.johnlewisfinance.com/currency/tipping-culture-tips-around-the-world.html https://www.johnlewisfinance.com/currency/tipping-culture-ti...
  - zb10948 3y ago
    That list is not correct for Europe/Southern Europe at least. Nobody expects anything. The most tipping is done by rounding up. You have a 1.8 euro bill for coffee, you leave 2 euro. The biggest difference between NA and Europe is that in NA a lot of people work for tips, as in, they're going to try to service you to get them. This is not the way it works in Europe, waiters do appreciate tips especially in places that have lower purchasing power, they will take your order, bring your food, bring your bill, and be on disposal if you want to call them anytime, but they're not going to try to look outgoing and approachable and hassle you with "is everything ok" questions for better tip.

TylerE 3y ago

Green on pink is now my new least favorite color combo. Thanks, I hate it! Edit: I encourage downvoters to actually try to read the linked page before downvoting me. It’s incredibly unreadable.

dsr_ 3y ago
MacBook M1, afternoon sunlight behind me but not directly glaring. Brightness is at about 60%. It's readable. It's not great. I've seen a lot worse (slightly dark grey on lighter grey, faded tan on medium blue, cyan on bright green...)
- TylerE 3y ago
  What about the background pattern that is nearly the same as the text color?
  - SV_BubbleTime 3y ago
    Didn’t you read the part where he is using an M1?
hex4def6 3y ago
Their 2012 page (https://web.archive.org/web/20120411013004/http://www.sewardcafe.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20120411013004/http://www.seward...) is significantly more better organized (For instance, address is right in the top right, as is opening hours), and easier to read in general. It also has features like embedding a google map into the page. The new one doesn't tell me an obvious address -- the only one appears to be the handwritten pixelated background image, which is partially blocked on every single page by a foreground photo. I dig retro and minimalistic pages. This is just bad design.

roughly 3y ago

Cheeseboard in Berkeley has been a successful co-op since 1971: https://cheeseboardcollective.coop/ https://cheeseboardcollective.coop/ I always enjoy these kinds of articles - "Could this radical new way of doing things ever succeed?" where the "radical new way" has a history going back to before the Reagan revolution. We're a really kind of unimaginative people when it comes to talking about how one arranges things in society.

chaos_emergent 3y ago
Have you read David Graeber's "The Dawn of Everything"? It touches on similar themes to: > We're a really kind of unimaginative people when it comes to talking about how one arranges things in society by asking "how did we get that way?"
- roughly 3y ago
  Yes! Brilliant book. More folks should read it. I also really enjoyed “Against the Grain” and “Seeing Like a State” by James C Scott - both really dig into social narratives and the ways we talk about history and society.
talldatethrow 3y ago
I used to love cheeseboard. After covid, it's like they hate being there. They cut the days open down to 4 a week, short hours, and basically act like they're doing you a favor serving you. But not in a smug way, more like they're an unhappy slave. Ruined some of the charm of the place.

autarch 3y ago

Sort of. They shut down during the pandemic and have only recently rebooted, but apparently with a totally new staff, and they're still figuring out food service. I'm pretty sure they had a lot of financial issues over the years. I used to go there all the time but I always thought there prices were too low.