Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.At a preview experience, the brunch menu showcased a double-digit list of delights. This is our restaurant group, and every decision we make benefits our future.” “It’s a reward for people beyond a thank you, or a bonus check,” Cucci said. When New Belgium Brewing sold to Lion little World Beverages in 2009, more than 300 employee owners received at least $100,000. It’s an amount that some employee-owners could also see in their futures, if the success of Colorado’s other large food and beverage ESOP is any indication. A new non-profit wing of Edible Beats will choose a local cause to support over the next five years, with the goal of raising $1 million. “As an industry we can take better care of our staff,” Cucci said. There’s been biannual profit sharing, and more recently, lifestyle spending accounts created for wellness expenses not typically covered by health insurance. For the past eight years, the restaurant group has offered its management 401k plans with up to 5% company matching. He hopes the move further “personifies” Edible Beats’ existing culture and values. This decades-old Aurora restaurant has some of the best wontons and dumplings in town “We can do the ESOP and reward the people who have been on this journey.” Related Articles “We thought, what a great thing,” Cucci said. Workers become fully vested after five years with the company if they have already been with Edible Beats for at least five years, that back-tenure counts toward ownership status. By February, Cucci switched to 100% employee-ownership, with 330 employees enrolled in the program. It cost him more than $400,000 to set up the ESOP and will continue to cost between $75,000 and $100,000 to maintain, Cucci estimated.īut the benefits include significant federal and local tax breaks and, hopefully, a viable business model for years to come. (James Florio, Provided by Edible Beats)įor Edible Beats, the process took five years, including a pause once the pandemic started, during which Cucci stopped trying to secure a bank loan for the restructuring process. The music venue, bar and restaurant is part of a group of local restaurants that are now employee-owned. James Florio, Provided by Edible BeatsOphelia’s Electric Soapbox reopened in Denver in April 2022 after a long pandemic closure and a redesign of the interior. “It’s really, pretty much non-existent,” Cucci said, adding, “the process is by no means easy, simple or effortless.” Of around 6,000 ESOPS in the U.S., just 1% are in the accommodation and food services industry. Jared Polis said in a press release on Wednesday.Įdible Beats joins around 100 other Colorado-based employee-owned companies, according to the National Center for Employee Ownership. ![]() “We are saving employee-owned companies money with up to $100,000 in tax credits on qualifying costs of converting, and I am proud to congratulate Edible Beats for taking this exciting step,” Gov. Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and the Governor’s office are also behind the plan. But with employee-ownership, “the ownership wins, the employees win and, in theory, the guests win.”Īt a time when restaurants are coming off of a shattering industry-wide crisis, and are still struggling to find and retain workers and keep menu prices down amid inflation, Cucci thinks the employee-ownership model is an intriguing, if initially costly, solution. ![]() The idea of selling to an outside investor, or even to one or two high-ranking employees didn’t sit well with him. “When we went over some longer term (succession plans), none of them seemed attractive,” Cucci added. Friday, October 14th 2022 Home Page Close Menu
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