Donna, the cocktail bar that closed in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg during the pandemic, will reopen this spring in the West Village as a worker-owned restaurant. Leif Huckman, owner of the restaurant, told Eater the decision allows “everyone to participate in the equity” of the business.
Astor Wines and Spirits in Noho in Manhattan, founded in 1946, switched to a worker-owned model at the end of last year. According to Curbed, Doug Yacka is the operations manager and compared this financial plan to “a superior form of 401(k).”
As a new way to reward employees, folding them into the top echelons of a business allows workers of all sizes to participate and own the future of their company. Restaurants are offering their workers an opportunity to invest in themselves and the local economy instead of investing in larger companies.
