In the early days of the American republic, the local public house (or “pub”) served as a crossroads and central meeting place for people from all parts of the community and beyond. People would stop and talk about the pressing issues of the day, including, perhaps, democracy... In the spirit of this early role of the brewpub as community gathering spot, Democracy Brewing launched its worker-owned brewpub in downtown Boston on July 4th, Independence Day, 2018. Combining high-quality local beer with a welcoming atmosphere, fresh-from-scratch delicious food, and a shot of workplace democracy turned out to be a winning combination. The co-op was a success.

When the Covid-19 pandemic descended less than two years later, Democracy Brewing was hard hit, like every other restaurant in the country. But the worker-owners persevered and even entertained ideas of expanding their collaborative brand of worker-ownership. They got the chance in late 2021, when a decommissioned church in Lewiston, Maine, became available for purchase. Despite being the second largest city in Maine, Lewiston has a marked paucity of brewpubs-per-capita and not very many worker co-ops either, making it just the place for Democracy Brewing’s second site.

The project enjoys significant support from the City of Lewiston and surrounding community, including the offer of an advantageous purchase price and future loan terms and historic tax credits. The problem was the co-op had to secure the site first. The Fund for Jobs Worth Owning stepped in, providing the crucial initial funding package for purchasing the real estate and working capital that will allow the remainder of the multi-million total restoration package to come into place.

Leveraging the power of worker ownership to transform jobs in the hospitality business into high-quality positions where people will want to make their careers has always been core to Democracy Brewing’s mission and strategy. Their worker-members believe the success they have found at their Boston location is highly replicable, and that, given the opportunity, many of their peers in the restaurant industry would enthusiastically embrace worker ownership. Now, thanks to a loan from the FJWO, another 10+ new worker-owners at the soon-to-be-opened Lewiston. Democracy Brewing will get to find out for themselves.