A new wine bar on Dorrance Street in Providence is shaking up the capital city’s popular foodie scene with its egalitarian management style.
Fortnight Wine Bar, a workers’ cooperative opened in December, is co-owned and operated by friends Elizabeth McDonnell, Mike da Cruz and Chris Norris-LeBlanc.
Da Cruz, who led the push for the workers’ cooperative, attended law school and clerks at a local law firm. He said exploitation is common in the food-service workplace, but it doesn’t have to be.
“If you want that kind of establishment, where people are invested personally and emotionally, having ownership is a good way for that to happen,” he said. “Working for someone else’s vision and bottom line is not a particularly motivating way for people to spend a large portion of their lives.”
It can be hard for restaurants to remain true to their sustainability goals and ethical values, he added, in a “traditional model with a lot of staff and still … be successful.”
Da Cruz hopes people see Fortnight as an alternative route to success.