About — May Day Cafe

A BRIEF HISTORY OF May Day Cafe

May Day Cafe is part of a long legacy of community and food at the corner of 35th and Bloomington. For two decades before it housed May Day, the building was home to the Powderhorn Co-op, a cooperative grocery store founded in the 1970s by a group of students based out of Walker Church (now New City Center) with the goal of providing accessible food in the neighborhood. That project gave way to May Day Cafe in the mid-1990s, first under the ownership of Mala Vujnovich and later purchased by then-employee Andy Lunning in 2003.

In the fall of 2023, two successful decades later, Andy decided he was ready to give up the life of a baker and announced to May Day staff his intention to move on. Between then and now, workers have stepped up to organize the purchase and transition of the space to operate May Day as a worker cooperative.

For over a year, workers at the Cafe led a massive organizing and fundraising effort to transition May Day to worker-ownership. With support from countless neighbors as well as the institutional support of a number of organizations, this transition was successfully completed by late January 2025.

Members of the Powderhorn Food Community Co-op rally to defend it. Minnesota Historical Society.

OUR Cooperative Future!

Our mission is to be a home for dignified and meaningful labor, affordable food, and community connection in the heart of the Powderhorn neighborhood. We want use our space as a true “third space” - one that is welcoming, accessible, and fosters neighborhood interdependence. All along the way, our goal is to contribute to a thriving and more powerful economy of worker cooperatives in Minneapolis.

May Day is where Powderhorn gathers. It is the people who make this space come alive. Under worker-ownership, we are excited to sustain and deepen the essence of what already makes May Day magic. We want this business to continue thriving as a community hub in the Powderhorn neighborhood for years to come. We commit to honor, uplift, and celebrate the history of the space and the legacy of all those who have made it what it is.

We are grateful to be the stewards of the next iteration of May Day Cafe. As we get our cooperative feet under us, we are excited to introduce new ways to be connected to this neighborhood hub. Stay tuned and join us!

TESTIMONIALS FROM THE COMMUNITY

Imogen

Neighbor, regular, fan

“May Day is an essential meeting place in the community, and I can always rely on seeing a familiar face when I stop in. May Day is where I run into old friends I haven't seen in years, get snacks for neighbors when they're sick, meet up to co-work, and catch up on local gossip.

I know my delicious almond croissant and americano will taste even better when May Day becomes our neighborhood worker-owned coop.”

Jessica R.

customer, neighbor

“I am so grateful for all the intention and care that the workers of May Day are putting into creating this coop, and am so excited to support our neighborhood coffee shop becoming a worker owned business! I'm so excited to go for even more muffins and egg sandwiches then ever before.”

Nadia H.O.

A regular, a fan, travels across 35W to reach May Day!

“May Day is a community center. I can't count the number of organizing meetings, first dates, school papers, and hours-long conversations I've had at May Day. I love the diversity of patrons, the commitment to good quality, affordable treats and meals, and the warm run-ins with South Minneapolis community members. Our community has gone through a lot over the past several years and change will continue to come - we need to know this gathering space is sustainable for workers and patrons alike and I can think of no better way than as a cooperative!”