About — May Day Cafe

A BRIEF HISTORY OF May Day Cafe

May Day Cafe has continued a legacy of community and food in the Powderhorn neighborhood in South Minneapolis. Before May Day, the building housed a multi-decade community hub and cooperative. In the 1970s, a group of students based out of Walker Church (now New City Center) in Powderhorn started a project to provide accessible food in the neighborhood. That project gave birth to the Powderhorn Co-op, a cooperative grocery store. In the mid-1990s, the building was purchased and turned into May Day Cafe by its first owner, Mala Vujnovich. When Mala decided she was ready to sell, Andy Lunning - a then-employee - purchased the Cafe 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.

As a Powderhorn institution, May Day has been home to a lot over its lifetime: children who grew up buying M&M cookies now order coffee as adults (or still purchase our M&M cookies!), neighbors who volunteered at the Powderhorn Co-op now come into the cafe as patrons, and longtime friendships have been established while waiting in line to buy croissants. The May Day community is steeped in its walls. We can’t imagine Powderhorn without the Cafe and we plan to keep it that way.

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

OUR Cooperative Future!

Workers at May Day immediately began organizing a cooperativization effort last fall after learning Andy Lunning, the longtime owner and baker of the Cafe, planned to step down and sell the Cafe. We engaged in deep conversation with each other and Andy to explore some questions: is this the right direction for the Cafe? Is this the right direction for us? Eventually we were able to enthusiastically say: YES! We firmly believe that a worker cooperative is both the structure that we want to work in, and the one that is best suited to continue May Day’s legacy as a community gathering place that serves delicious and affordable food. Simply put, a worker cooperative benefits us all.

Since the fall, we’ve dove deep into educating ourselves on worker cooperatives,

building trust with each other, and learning to navigate the complex logistics of large business and real estate transactions. We’ve spent countless hours working with our legal and technical advisors, writing grant applications, and building out the internal infrastructure to make this all possible. We have already accomplished so much - and now we are asking for community support to get us to the finish line!

In addition to grants and loans, our goal is to raise $250,000. This will allow us to close on the purchase, start paying down the mortgage, and, most importantly, keep prices low for you and compensation livable for us. We’ve already got so much in place to make this vision a reality. Now we need your help to fund the purchase of the Cafe!

Once we purchase May Day and transition it into a worker cooperative, we plan to maintain the essence of what makes May Day magical. We want to buy this beloved business to sustain May Day as a community hub for 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.

May Day is where Powderhorn gathers. You have been supporting the Cafe for decades. You make this space come alive with conversation and keep the line oh-so long. Now, we are committed to maintaining the legacy of May Day by sustaining us as worker-owners and continuing to serve you, our community.

TESTIMONIALS FROM THE COMMUNITY

Submit your own testimonial!

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!”