Great Places to Work

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Great Places to Work Sharing Our
Successes Presentation Worker-Owned Restaurant
Corporation dba Casa Nueva Leslie Schaller
Business Director/Founder leslies_at_acenetworks.org
October 25, 2006
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• Worker-owned Restaurant Corporation
• Established in 1985
• Operates as a c corporation By Laws designate
  business as worker cooperative
• Started with staff of 20 worker owners now
  employ staff of approximately 60 to 68 since
  2004
• All worker-owners from 1985-2000, hired
  employees as well 2001 to 2006

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"Casa Nueva is an innovative worker-owned
cooperative based in Southeast Ohio. We are
dedicated to strengthening the environmental,
economic, and social well being of our community
by promoting wholesome products, democratic
participation and responsible practices."
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• Timeline of operations
• Incorporated June 1985
• Restaurant opened 10/85
• Liquor permit 9/89
• Cantina opened 9/93
• Manufacturing began 1997 (wholesale)
• Commissary sales growth in 2000 2001
• Athens Farmers Market member 2001
• Major expansion to 4th storefront 2004
• Bodega kitchen quick casual menu 2004

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• Core Values
• Participatory democracy
• Access to ownership and equity
• Living wages and benefits
• Environmental stewardship
• Sustainable agriculture
• Keeping local
• Homegrown, handmade, fair trade
• Incubating community

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• Participatory democracy
• all employees can become coop members
• coop member shareholders
• coop members make all decisions
• coop members follow groundrules for cooperation

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• Participatory democracy
• coop members participate on committees, board of
  directors and coordinator team
• coop members participate on human resource teams
• all meetings open
• associates can participate in meetings, on teams
  and committees

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• Access to ownership and equity
• everyone is hired as an employee
• worker-owner track includes 3 to 6 month trail
  period
• worker owners buy in for 2007 will be 1500,
  typically paid through a payroll deduction
• shown a profit every year since 1986
• profit split 60 for ICAs and 40 corporation
• patronage dividends calculated based on hours
  worked

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• Living wages benefits
• Employee wages start at about 8.50 to 9.00
  (average food service worker in Athens County is
  5.15)
• Worker-owners start at 1.00 over employees
• Wage increases based on hours worked and status
• All tips split amongst all shift workers (both
  w/os and employees)
• Everyone eligible for health insurance (health,
  eye and dental)
• Retirement co-pay available to worker-owners

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• Environmental stewardship
• Reduce energy use and increase efficiencies
• Winner of Ohio EPA Pollution Prevention Award
• Advocate for commercial curbside recycling in
  1988
• Recycle plastic, paper, newsprint, cardboard,
  aluminum, steel, clear glass brown glass
• Recycle green glass to local furniture maker
• Compost all vegetable waste, fruit waste
  coffee grounds
• Food scraps recycled to area hog farmers

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• Environmental stewardship
• purchase goods services from environmentally
  friendly biz
• investigating ways to reduce energy costs with
  solar panels on roof top
• work with local non-profit to advocate for Class
  2 EPA municipal composting facility
• work with Athens Uptown Business Association on
  recycling issues

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• Sustainable agriculture support
• long history of buying local since 1986
• currently purchase from over 40 local farmers,
  producers and distributors, even flowers grown
  locally
• work with growers to provide capacity analysis
  and identify certain varieties of produce
• special training on use of local ingredients for
  back front of house staff
• regular workshops for staff on local
  agricultural issues

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• Sustainable agriculture support
• About 90 of food ingredients are local,
  sustainable, organic or international fair trade
• Have provided Casa staff and pay to work on area
  farms as teaching tool
• Member of the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm
  Association, Athens Farmers Market, Slow Food
  USA, Chef Collaborative and Community Food
  Initiatives
• Use local food advocacy in marketing and
  publicity
• Participate on national web pages Food Routes,
  Local Harvest, etc.

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• Keeping local
• Participate on Athens Area Chamber of Commerce
  and Athens Uptown Business Association ---
  encourage small biz services and local tourism
  initiatives
• One of 5 founders of Athens Independent
  Restaurant Association advocate for
  independents, share services, lobby
  officeholders and media, sponsor events
• Work with local service providers, often promote
  in our marketing materials
• Participate in both city and county
  comprehensive plans

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• Homegrown, handmade and fair trade
• Utilized in house graphic design and local
  artist for restaurant, Cantina and manufactured
  product line marketing materials
• Utilized local ingredients for wholesale product
  and Limited harvest lines
• All processed items on our menu produced
  either by our staff or value- added producers
  (jams, pickles, roasted chiles, spreads,
  tortillas, breads, granola, crackers, maple
  syrup, honey, etc.)
• Our space is used as gallery and we act as
  broker for all sales of artwork
• Invest in other worker coops and fair trade
  organizations

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• Incubating community
• Space has become a networking hub for local food
  economy
• Assisted with development of ACEnet Food
  Ventures Center
• Eighteen worker-owners have started other
  businesses
• Many worker-owners have become community leaders
• Hold fundraisers for community organizations
• Celebrate customer and producer appreciation
  weeks
• Regular customers refer to themselves as eater
  owners!

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• Why and how it all works
• Clear operating procedures (200 page handbook)
• Groundrules and on-going cooperative education
• Open book accounting practices (sales and tips
  posted after every shift, weekly financial
  reports, income statement balance sheet posted
  every month
• Transparent decision-making
• Clear group process (agenda postings, minutes,
  weekly scheduled meetings for coordinators and
  board of directors)
• Annual business plan (about 80 pages with
  extensive pro-formas)

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Coordinator Team 1 to 7 day decisions, up to
5,000, supervises implements
HR Board of Directors Monthly decisions up to
10,000, hire/fires/disciplines
HR Membership Monthly to annual decisions,
must vote on budget expenditures
exceeding 10k, creates revises HR
policies procedures
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• Creating a culture of cooperation
• Clear application and interview process (how a
  coop workplace is different)
• Extensive orientations for incoming staff
• Trial period for incoming worker owners
• Buddy systems and frequent peer evaluations
• Existing worker-owners mentor and model coop
  norms

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• Creating a culture of cooperation
• Minimum coop ed and financial training prior to
  acceptance
• Flexible member fee pay-in, family friendly
  policies, sabbaticals, staff prices, paid
  leaves under certain circumstances
• Mediation and conflict resolution as needed
• Annual celebrations, all staff trainings and
  conferences

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• Financial Management Evolves
• Policy assistance from national experts
• Understanding bank and accounting assistance
• Invest in training financial managers
• Always upgrading technology, software, POS
  system
• 1 to 3 year pro-forma development
• Conservative liability to asset ratio
• Utilized large percentage of equity for
  expansions

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• Human resources at the core of success
• Train everyone as if they are owners
• Emphasis rights and responsibility
• Self-management as north star
• Peer learning and peer evaluations
• Deal with conflicts and personality types
• Embrace diversity

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• Signposts of success
• Still around after 21 years and still
  worker-owned
• Grown from 200k to 2m in annual sales
• Shown a profit and paid out patronage dividends
  every year
• Have helped launch and expand at least 25 other
  businesses and farmers doing over 2.5 million
  in annual sales (Shade River Organics, Green
  Edge Gardens, King Family Farms, Rich Gardens,
  Minerva Cheese, Village Bakery, OBettys Red
  Hots, Crumbs Bakery, Marietta Brewing Company,
  Sundown Garage, Media Brite, Eden Marketing, to
  just name a few)
• Beloved by our customers community!!!!

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• Whats next?
• Increase number of worker-owners
• Increase wages, benefits and profits
• Increase number of local customers
• Promote uniquely Athens experience to visitors
• Expand distribution of manufactured products
• Continue local advocacy in our community
• Work on national coop awareness

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You can support us by asking for our products at
your local grocery shelves!
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Visit us at www.casanueva.com
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For more information Leslie Schaller leslies_at_ace
netowrks.org Nancy Beurkel casa_at_casanueva.com G
reg Lyle call the Cantina at 740-594-8691