Michigan Restaurant With A Socialism-Inspired Business Model Closes Down

Let me get this straight – a restaurant with no bosses, no tipping, and everyone gets paid exactly the same closes down. And you all are SURPRISED that this happened?

According to this, the Garden Diner and Cafe (formerly the Bartertown Diner) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, announced that they would be closing their doors. That in itself isn’t terribly notable. Businesses close down from time to time for various reasons. It happens.

But then you find out that their business model is one Bernie Sanders would be proud of. And then it all makes sense.

See, the employees of the Garden Diner were all “equal.” Nobody was the boss, nobody was in charge, everyone made decisions together as a collective. And they didn’t accept tips, because it’s UNFAAAAAAIR that the waitstaff could pocket $200-$300 a night and cooks only got $10/hour –

Not only was the menu unconventional, so was the business model. Bartertown was a collective, which meant there were no bosses, according to [founder Ryan] Cappelletti. The inspiration for the worker-owned restaurant was based on Cappelletti’s own restaurant experience.

“Because of our economy, people are working 12- to-15-hour shifts, servers take home $200 to $300 a night in tips, the cooks are making $10 an hour and the owner takes whatever he takes, ” Cappelletti told MLive in 2011. “We’re going to have equal pay and equal say across the board. Everyone working together.”

Employees would be expected to join the union, Industrial Workers of the World, he said.

So, everyone worked together in glorious socialist peace and harmony and provided wonderful food to the public out of the goodness of their hearts and everything was lovely!

Yeah, no. Not really. For one thing, the customers often complained that they had to wait 40 minutes for their food and that the place wasn’t open very often.

While the restaurant’s menu garnered a loyal following and hefty praise, there were complaints about 40-minute waits for sandwiches and limited hours of operation.

For another, one time the Garden Diner sent free food to the Grand Rapids Police Department to show their appreciation for law enforcement (which was a decent thing for them to do), people freaked out that the restaurant seemed to be supporting mean and hatey-hateful racists who just want to kill black people.

Y’all can’t win for losing, can you?

But what do you expect from a company that expect their employees to join the “Industrial Workers of the World”? Sounds like something out of a communist nightmare. Not surprising, since the restaurant sported murals honoring Che Guevara and Mao Zedong.

The menu was completely vegan which, again, not that big of a deal. Though their dishes were named things like “Dirty Dirty Beans & Greens” and “Raw Trash Salad.”

How do leftists survive eating food like this?

Sane people are, rightly, laughing about this –

News of the restaurant’s closure sparked debate on Reddit, a discussion website. Business and politics aren’t an appetizing mix, wrote one person, who had this to say:

“I want to pay money for good product, without a side of indoctrination. Hopefully this sends a message: you shouldn’t try running your business on political good will alone.”

This is almost as dumb as those idiots demanding $15/hour. Except those morons are demanding it of major businesses who are actually interested in making money and providing jobs. I guarantee that the minute McDonald’s or Wendy’s starts using business models inspired by socialists and communists is the minute that they become completely worthless.

But this ought to teach everyone a valuable lesson – socialism sounds good in your imagination. In reality, it falls apart quicker than a car made of cheese.