Alvarado Street Bakery

Alvarado Street Bakery

Company type	Worker cooperative
Industry	Bakery, Organic food
Founded	1977
Headquarters	Petaluma , United States
Area served	United States
Products	Organic whole grain breads and bagels
Number of employees	Not specified

Alvarado Street Bakery is a worker cooperative located in Petaluma, California, known for its production of certified organic whole grain breads and bagels. The bakery was highlighted in the 2009 documentary Capitalism: A Love Story. It functions under a model of employee ownership, where every worker owns one share, providing equal voting power on matters such as benefits, wages, and the allocation of profits. By 2009, more than half of its employees had been with the company for over 15 years, earning an average salary ranging from $65,000 to $70,000 annually.

History

Established in 1977 as a segment of the employee-owned non-profit Red Clover Worker's Brigade—which encompassed various natural food enterprises within the San Francisco Bay Area—Alvarado Street Bakery became autonomous by 1981. At that time, five out of eight employees formed Semper Virens Bakery Food Cooperative, Inc., which operates under the Alvarado Street Bakery name. The bakery’s name originates from an overturned street sign found on Alvarado Street in Venice Beach, Los Angeles.

During the 1980s, the bakery’s expansion and dedication to organic ingredients helped it gain recognition within the organic food industry. Currently, Alvarado produces more than 40,000 loaves each day in a facility powered by solar energy and is especially noted for its flourless sprouted wheat bread varieties.

External links

• article in Baking Management magazine