In a world where people, food and information are treated like commodities, a new worker-owned cooperative wants to turn them back into things that build local connections. After many years of people wanting a radical bookstore/café and a progressive community incubator in Duluth, we’ve come together to start the Jefferson People’s House, a democratic worker-owned, collectively managed space.

The motto: Coffee – Books – Social Justice – Toast

We’ll be serving great Fair Trade and single-sourced coffee and we’ll also be offering tasty, locally produced toasts with a bunch of great toppings. As for books, we’ll stock a variety progressive books, magazines, pamphlets and other things related to labor and worker cooperatives, radical economics, ecology, rad kid’s books, permaculture, social practice, veganism, art, sexuality, feminism, do-it-yourself projects, indigenous struggles and various other topics of interest.

The shop will provide a venue for community gatherings around social topics, offering space for dialogue, organizing or critical reflection. Jefferson People’s House will be incubator for other worker-owned cooperatives, providing people powered economic alternatives to traditional business hierarchies.

We value regenerative ecology, workplace democracy, labor rights, community, social practice, art, creativity, and equality in all spheres of life. Jefferson People’s House is a local, worker-owned, grassroots effort, empowering workers to facilitate real community engagement, bringing people together for the common good.

Opening on June 1, our project will be situated in a storefront just below Anytime Fitness on the corner of 15th and Jefferson St. in the Endion neighborhood of Duluth. Join with us in launching this new community based project by contributing to our Indiegogo campaign. We’re all in this together, let’s build something unique!