There is something different about A Slice of New York Pizza in San Jose. And it goes beyond their award-winning pies."We're a worker co-op, which means all the members and owners of the business work in the business," said the restaurant's founder Kirk Vartan. He started the business 17 years ago.Six years ago, he turned it into a co-op by selling the business to his staff as a leveraged buyout.
"It's not just a job. It's our baby!" said Colin Webster. This was his first job when he turned 18 ten years ago. He now chairs the board. It's not a new business model, but it is getting a lot more attention after the pandemic wiped out many small businesses.