The Rise & Fall of Black Cat Cafe Workers Cooperative

In this episode Nacho speaks candidly about the highs & the lows of his & Carla's 10 year journey with Black Cat Cafe. Even though from the outside Black Cat Cafe seems to be extremely successful Nacho shares about the constant challenges they faced - the difficulties paying members & staff fairly, and the set backs when trying to attract & retain worker members.

Nacho & Caleb also reflect on the lessons learnt & we celebrate what Black Cat Cafe has achieved - having become a landmark in the vegan, activist & cooperative scenes for its pioneering vegan cuisine & dedication to supporting its community & activists.

Black Cat Cafe may stop being a workers cooperative, but as Sam Nordland said in Episode 1 painting co-op business closures as failures isn't always useful, because "we provided jobs for ourselves for a number of years & we introduced a lot of young people to working in a cooperative setting". PUNCHCARD is recorded live on the first Tuesday of the month at 6PM. Sign up to our next live recording here.

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Header image via Co-operatives London