Workers Now Own West Village Aussie Cafe: Report

WEST VILLAGE, NY — The workers are now the owners at an Australian cafe, according to reporting.

Or, at least partial owners — for now.

At Banter, with two locations in West and Greenwich Village, employees started the year with a change in ownership structure, according to Time Out New York, where they all now have at least some degree of ownership in the popular brunch spots.

A rep told the magazine that the company decided to switch to a financial model where all employees were granted a 10 percent ownership stake in the business.

“We increase ownership and receive dividends, which is just extra money in [the employees'] pocket because of business profits,” Jaimen Sfetko, a rep for the cafe, told Time Out.

The impetus for the change was when the founders of the Aussie mainstay were thinking about leaving the city but wanted to ensure that their cafe — and their employees — would be taken care of, Time Out reports, with the shared equity model appearing to be the best model to ensure longevity.

While a unique model in the food and retail space, another notable New York City business, Astor Wine & Spirits, took a similar approach last September when the family who owned the store sold it to an employee stock ownership plan.

Read more at Time Out New York.