How employee ownership helped Phoenix Coffee survive Covid-19

Despite a nationwide months-long coronavirus lockdown in Norway, the economy was able to remain stable due to a "decades-long effort to create an equitable economy" that helped the government to enact a package that provided businesses and self-employed individuals' tax relief and deferrals. Although Norwegians pay roughly the same amount of taxes that Americans do, their taxes largely pay for social welfare programs which include unemployment benefits, retirement pay, and health care coverage. This "national ethos of economic equity" is what helped the country to navigate the pandemic.

South Korea's economic growth is one of the few that have not stagnated or declined during the coronavirus pandemic. Although much of this is due to how effectively the country handled containment protocols from the start, the overall fiscal response – which included encouraging residents to reinvest government payouts in local businesses – also played a significant role. In one province, this included using non-cash payments "that could only be spent in shops inside the region, rather than as cash that could be hoarded."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, owners of the French bistro Bell's took a financial risk and began investing more money in their employees to incentivize working, increase employee satisfaction and retention and overall drive more profits. The decision has since paid off and is reimagining the traditional restaurant structure.

To save dozens of restaurants in San Francisco during the coronavirus lockdowns, a restaurant owner launched an organization that "provides monthly contracts to its restaurant partners to cook meals for underserved populations." The organization, which has 160 restaurant partners so far, helps fill the gaps left by the government-funded Paycheck Protection Program.

As restaurants across the nation have been forced to close their doors during the coronavirus pandemic, some are turning to creative means to help account for the loss of revenue. In Philadelphia, restaurants have created a virtual tip jar to encourage patrons to "donate a tip" to a person or business while in San Francisco a restaurant owner has created a Facebook group that helps connect out of work servers with childcare jobs.

The coronavirus pandemic highlighted the ways in which the food system is broken, but governments, NGOs, and philanthropists are working to address the discrepancies by connecting small-scale farmers of color with businesses that can purchase their produce at fair rates. “For the first time, they felt connected with a real community. For the first time, they felt they were getting paid what’s right for what they’re growing,” a business advisor for one of the operations explains.

United We Stream (UWS) is a Berlin-based collaboration of nightlife businesses aiming to keep their businesses and club culture alive – and keep people entertained – during mandated closures because of COVID-19. With nightlife being hit hard by long-term closures, the collaboration offers live-stream DJ sets and asks for donations for participating businesses, with the hope that after the pandemic subsides, Europe’s club culture will survive.

Across England, businesses are stepping up to help their neighbors during the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s Glasses Direct, which is gifting 4,000 pairs of glasses to National Health Service workers, and Fully Charged, offering health care workers 3 months of free e-bike usage. Remote services are being offered too, with Thrive Law has created a helpline for those experiencing crisis to receive free legal advice, and Ascenti, offering free and remote physiotherapy sessions for the elderly and NHS employees.

After an initial shock to business-as-usual, some independent booksellers are trying new methods to get their products in the hands of readers. Home deliveries, online sales, and fundraising efforts are keeping some longstanding institutions afloat, at least for now.

As many restaurants shift to delivery or take-out early due to the coronavirus pandemic, others are finding success in shifting their business models to become markets and bodegas. Although this isn't necessarily sustainable long-term, it has in the interim worked well for a pizzeria in the Hollywood area and has allowed the cafe to keep all employees on staff and even afforded them raises. It has also shed light on the need for cross-sector collaboration between city, county, and state governments.