Noone is saying that restaurant employees would make $250/hour. While the rates cited in the article are higher than most employees earn in equivalent environme

Noone is saying that restaurant employees would make $250/hour. While the rates cited in the article are higher than most employees earn in equivalent environments, the are still modest in comparison to other industries (and they are absorbing some risk by buying shares, something that most $30/hour employees don't do). The committee that you spoke of have a vested interest in the outcome of the decisions and, in certain cases, the decision must have full support of the board. While this will have problems, it is unlikely to suffer from the symptoms that most people think of when they think of something being designed by committee. The other thing to consider here is that this is a relatively small business. As such, it is possible to recruit a board that is more likely to share a common vision and train them in operating a business. We are not talking about a fast food chain with tens of thousand of employees and little interest in training beyond the skills to fit a singular role. I don't know if operating a restaurant as a cooperative is viable in the long run, but I am not going to argue against it from a prejudiced position.