Today we’d like to introduce you to Nik Koski.
Hi Nik, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Common Ground Bakery Cafe has been a staple of the Hampden community in Baltimore since 1997. Many people who live in the neighborhood are long-time regulars and see the space as a home away from home where they can hang out with friends and family or do some work in a relaxing spot. In 2022, my coworkers and I, who were staff of Common Ground at the time, started a union drive because we were tired of seeing the wealth we create go into the hands of a boss who was not even at the shop very often. We also didn’t like that this boss would make all the decisions without really having a real understanding of the shop and our community. Moreover, we also saw issues of systemic racism in the shop that were not being addressed. We chose to organize to make Common Ground better for all of us. But in July of 2023, just a few months into our union campaign, the owner decided to close down the shop and fired 30 staff of Common Ground. Suddenly without the means to make money to pay our bills and survive, the majority of us former staff of Common Ground came together and set out our intention to take over the coffee shop. We made a public statement to the media, started fundraising to meet our immediate financial needs, and then worked out the next steps to take over Common Ground and form it into a worker-owned cooperative so that we could all run the shop ourselves without any need for a boss. The truth is, we don’t need a boss, the boss needs us. By September of 2023, in just about 2 months, we successfully re-opened Common Ground with the massive support of our community who stuck by our side from the beginning. Now we are two years into running this coffee shop and bakery on our own. We have put on community events, updated our menu, trained up new worker-owners, gave back to our neighbors through the community meal program, and so much more. Every year we continue to improve and show that it is possible to create a better world when workers organize together and demand what we deserve.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There are of course challenges, especially when we continue to operate within a capitalist system. Despite having taken over the shop and redistributed the wealth we create more evenly among ourselves, we still struggle within a system that does not provide the healthcare and other necessary resources to life. Many of us still struggle to make ends meet and we see these same struggles reflected in our community. Many of us also are not used to having power and democracy within our workplaces. It can be a challenging shift to make when we are so used to having others above us make all the decisions about our lives. Within our worker-cooperative, we try our best to model and show how we can collectively take power. But it is hard work to take on that responsibility.
As you know, we’re big fans of Common Ground Cafe Cooperative. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Common Ground Cafe Cooperative was born from the collective efforts of Common Ground Workers United, the former organized employees of Common Ground Bakery Cafe. We are passionate baristas, bakers, cooks, and community members committed to each other and the people we serve. After we had began the process of unionization, the owner suddenly closed down the cafe in July of 2023, shocking the entire staff and community. With the help of the Hampden and greater Baltimore community, we were able to bring back our beloved cafe under collective ownership within just 2 months.
Before we became a worker cooperative, Common Ground had been a staple of the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore for over 25 years. We started as a small cafe on the Avenue in 1997, and moved down the street to our bigger location on Chestnut Ave at the beginning of 2022. We have steadily grown to be one of Hampden’s favorite coffee shops and community gathering hubs.
Many folks love our muffins, lattes, and breakfast sandwiches. We also do lots of specials regularly for our baked goods and lattes!
What are your plans for the future?
At Common Ground, we recently established our 5 year plan for 2026-2030 where we set out our main goals for the coming years with a focus on 3 main pillars: Workers, Cooperative, & Community. We aim to continue making Common Ground the best it can be for us the workers who make Common Ground run every day, for the shop itself and its long term sustainability, and lastly for our broader community who we seek to serve and provide food, drinks, space, and community to. I look forward to finding more ways to show that we’re not just a coffee shop, but a place that can be a part of building a better future for humanity and our neighborhood. Just finding new ways to share our story of the takeover I think can inspire many people to find hope that they have the power to take action in their own workplaces and lives more broadly.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://commongroundhampden.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/commongroundworkers
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/CommGroundCafe
