A beloved coffee spot in Hampden faced a sudden closure in July, catching both staff and customers by surprise. But that wasn’t the end of Common Ground Bakery Café; its workers are coming together to reopen later this month as a co-op. Co-ops flip the model on the typical business model. So how do they work?

Christa Daring is the Executive Director of the Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy. The nonprofit advises and provides financial support for fledgling co-ops in the Baltimore area.

Also with us is Jake Urtes, a worker-owner at Common Ground Bakery Café. The coffee shop and gathering place closed this summer after 25 years but is reopening later this fall.

A beloved coffee spot in Hampden faced a sudden closure in July, catching both staff and customers by surprise. But that wasn’t the end of Common Ground Bakery Café; its workers are coming together to reopen later this month as a co-op. Co-ops flip the model on the typical business model. So how do they work?
Christa Daring is the Executive Director of the <a href="https://www.baltimoreroundtable.org/">Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy</a>. The nonprofit advises and provides financial support for fledgling co-ops in the Baltimore area.
Also with us is Jake Urtes, a worker-owner at Common Ground Bakery Café. The coffee shop and gathering place closed this summer after 25 years but is reopening later this fall.

Catch On the Record, hosted by Sheilah Kast, weekdays from 9:30 to 10:00 am, following NPR's Morning Edition. We'll discuss the issues that affect your life and bring you thoughtful and lively conversations with the people who shape those issues -- business people, public officials, scholars, artists, authors, WYPR reporters and other journalists who can take us inside the story. If you want to share a comment, question, or an idea for an interview you?d like to hear, email us at ontherecord@wypr.org

Catch On the Record, hosted by Sheilah Kast, weekdays from 9:30 to 10:00 am, following NPR's Morning Edition. We'll discuss the issues that affect your life and bring you thoughtful and lively conversations with the people who shape those issues -- business people, public officials, scholars, artists, authors, WYPR reporters and other journalists who can take us inside the story. If you want to share a comment, question, or an idea for an interview you?d like to hear, email us at <a href="mailto:ontherecord@wypr.org" target="_blank">ontherecord@wypr.org</a>

On The Record

Catch On the Record, hosted by Sheilah Kast, weekdays from 9:30 to 10:00 am, following NPR's Morning Edition. We'll discuss the issues that affect your life and bring you thoughtful and lively conversations with the people who shape those issues -- business people, public officials, scholars, artists, authors, WYPR reporters and other journalists who can take us inside the story. If you want to share a comment, question, or an idea for an interview you'd like to hear, email us at ontherecord@wypr.org

Catch On the Record, hosted by Sheilah Kast, weekdays from 9:30 to 10:00 am, following NPR's Morning Edition. We'll discuss the issues that affect your life and bring you thoughtful and lively conversations with the people who shape those issues -- business people, public officials, scholars, artists, authors, WYPR reporters and other journalists who can take us inside the story. If you want to share a comment, question, or an idea for an interview you'd like to hear, email us at <a href="mailto:ontherecord@wypr.org">ontherecord@wypr.org</a>

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