worker-cooperative restaurant project

Mera Kitchen Collective

Industry Food

A Baltimore restaurant and bar building a worker cooperative around food from immigrant and refugee chefs from around the world. Mera Kitchen Collective scores well because ownership is comparatively aligned and the model leaves more value with stakeholders, and no current penalty outweighs that structure.

Why this matters: For travelers and city diners, Mera is a restaurant with explicit worker-cooperative direction.

Letter grade A Good Medium confidence (AI) Rubric gcd-rubric-v1 Last reviewed May 6, 2026

Final Score 54* A - Good

AGOOD54 pts

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.

Base Material54

Bonus+2

Cap66No structure cap

After Cap56

Penalties-2

Small business context

This entry is classified as a small business using observable scale signals: independent control, local or limited operations, and no evidence of public-company or national-chain scale. The small-business calibration keeps the ordinary rubric but reads evidence at person scale: living-wage pricing is not extraction by itself, while worker and contractor treatment, owner surplus, transparency, advertising pressure, dissent tolerance, and recourse matter more. Harm, toxicity, surveillance, labor, coercion, opacity, and hidden-parent penalties are not relaxed.

Applied cap: No structure cap

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Evaluation Overview

A - Good

The score turns mainly on Ownership, with the largest penalty coming from High-Carbon Products.

Strengths

Ownership8/10
Extraction8/10
Governance7/10

Penalties

High-Carbon Products-2

Evidence state

ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)
ThoroughnessPartial (AI)
Linked claims5
Direct axis claims5
Coverage5/11

Scoring Axes

Axis	Score	Why this score
Ownership ? Control rights: shareholder-dominated at 0, worker cooperative control at 10.	8 / 10	Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. That places Mera Kitchen Collective high on Ownership: decisive control is held by workers, users, members, or another stakeholder class rather than outside capital. A still-higher or maximum value requires stronger proof that this structure is durable, broad, and not merely discretionary. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 168 scored entries below, 32 tied, 26 above on Ownership. Linked evidence Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. [1]
Governance ? Binding decision authority: centralized control at 0, democratic stakeholder control at 10.	7 / 10	Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. That places Mera Kitchen Collective in the middle of Governance: there are accountability mechanisms, but they stop short of broad democratic control. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 163 scored entries below, 28 tied, 35 above on Governance. Linked evidence context Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. [1] context Mera Kitchen says it adds a 20% service fee to all checks, shared among the entire team to support more sustainable, livable wages. [2] context Mera Kitchen operates a restaurant and bar serving food from chefs from around the world for lunch, dinner, brunch, happy hour, and takeout. [3]
Extraction ? Surplus allocation, wage share, CEO pay ratio, margins, and structured extraction judgment.	8 / 10	Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. That places Mera Kitchen Collective high on Extraction: surplus is structurally routed toward workers, producers, users, or public benefit instead of being primarily captured upward. A still-higher or maximum value requires stronger proof that this structure is durable, broad, and not merely discretionary. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 173 scored entries below, 34 tied, 19 above on Extraction. Linked evidence context Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. [1] context Mera Kitchen says it adds a 20% service fee to all checks, shared among the entire team to support more sustainable, livable wages. [2] context Mera Kitchen operates a restaurant and bar serving food from chefs from around the world for lunch, dinner, brunch, happy hour, and takeout. [3]
Labor Sovereignty ? Worker power: coercive conditions at 0, co-determination or ownership at 7. Employee dissatisfaction matters only when source-backed evidence shows concrete limits on worker agency, such as coercive scheduling, retaliation, wage theft, harassment, unsafe conditions, suppression of worker voice, or extreme turnover.	7 / 7	Mera Kitchen says it adds a 20% service fee to all checks, shared among the entire team to support more sustainable, livable wages. Mera Kitchen says it adds a 20% service fee to all checks, shared among the entire team to support more sustainable, livable wages. That places Mera Kitchen Collective high on Labor Sovereignty: workers or participants have unusually strong formal power over work, conditions, or the institution itself. A still-higher or maximum value requires stronger proof that this structure is durable, broad, and not merely discretionary. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 205 scored entries below, 21 tied, 0 above on Labor Sovereignty. Linked evidence Mera Kitchen says it adds a 20% service fee to all checks, shared among the entire team to support more sustainable, livable wages. [2]
Solidarity with the Unemployed ? Treatment of exits and nonworkers, including severance, redeployment, and non-competes.	5 / 7	Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. That places Mera Kitchen Collective in the middle of Solidarity with the Unemployed: some access, severance, retraining, openness, or mutual-aid value is present, but it is not central or durable. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 158 scored entries below, 38 tied, 30 above on Solidarity with the Unemployed. Linked evidence context Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. [1] context Mera Kitchen says it adds a 20% service fee to all checks, shared among the entire team to support more sustainable, livable wages. [2] context Mera Kitchen operates a restaurant and bar serving food from chefs from around the world for lunch, dinner, brunch, happy hour, and takeout. [3]
Loss-Bearing Fidelity ? Willingness to absorb costs to preserve values, workers, users, and public obligations.	6 / 7	Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. That places Mera Kitchen Collective high on Loss-Bearing Fidelity: the institution is structured to absorb real costs rather than shifting losses onto weaker parties. A still-higher or maximum value requires stronger proof that this structure is durable, broad, and not merely discretionary. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 163 scored entries below, 54 tied, 9 above on Loss-Bearing Fidelity. Linked evidence context Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. [1] context Mera Kitchen says it adds a 20% service fee to all checks, shared among the entire team to support more sustainable, livable wages. [2] context Mera Kitchen operates a restaurant and bar serving food from chefs from around the world for lunch, dinner, brunch, happy hour, and takeout. [3]
Market Conduct ? Pricing fairness, switching costs, lock-in, and rent extraction.	4 / 5	Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. That places Mera Kitchen Collective high on Market Conduct: pricing, access, switching, and bargaining practices show restraint compared with ordinary rent-seeking competitors. A still-higher or maximum value requires stronger proof that this structure is durable, broad, and not merely discretionary. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 106 scored entries below, 73 tied, 47 above on Market Conduct. Linked evidence context Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. [1] context Mera Kitchen says it adds a 20% service fee to all checks, shared among the entire team to support more sustainable, livable wages. [2] context Mera Kitchen operates a restaurant and bar serving food from chefs from around the world for lunch, dinner, brunch, happy hour, and takeout. [3]
Product Integrity ? Preservation of quality rather than degradation for monetization.	5 / 5	Mera Kitchen operates a restaurant and bar serving food from chefs from around the world for lunch, dinner, brunch, happy hour, and takeout. Mera Kitchen operates a restaurant and bar serving food from chefs from around the world for lunch, dinner, brunch, happy hour, and takeout. That places Mera Kitchen Collective high on Product Integrity: the core offering is genuinely useful and comparatively less dependent on traps, degradation, or harmful dependencies. A still-higher or maximum value requires stronger proof that this structure is durable, broad, and not merely discretionary. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 134 scored entries below, 92 tied, 0 above on Product Integrity. Linked evidence Mera Kitchen operates a restaurant and bar serving food from chefs from around the world for lunch, dinner, brunch, happy hour, and takeout. [3]
Scale Integrity ? Whether growth improves or degrades fairness and accountability.	4 / 5	Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. That places Mera Kitchen Collective high on Scale Integrity: growth appears compatible with accountability, quality, and stakeholder benefit. A still-higher or maximum value requires stronger proof that this structure is durable, broad, and not merely discretionary. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 109 scored entries below, 81 tied, 36 above on Scale Integrity. Linked evidence context Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business. [1] context Mera Kitchen says it adds a 20% service fee to all checks, shared among the entire team to support more sustainable, livable wages. [2] context Mera Kitchen operates a restaurant and bar serving food from chefs from around the world for lunch, dinner, brunch, happy hour, and takeout. [3]

Penalties

Penalty	Applied	Why this penalty
High-Carbon Products ? Core products, services, financing, or supply chains that materially depend on fossil-fuel combustion, high-emissions transport, industrial animal agriculture, meat, dairy, or other unusually carbon-intensive activity. This is scored separately from general ecological harm so ordinary consumers can see carbon-intensive product exposure directly. Range: -10 to 0.	-2	The company sells mixed grocery, restaurant, or packaged-food products where meat, dairy, refrigerated logistics, or high-carbon ingredients are material but not necessarily the entire business model. Linked evidence Mera Kitchen Collective has mixed food exposure high-carbon product exposure based on its listed business model and current profile description: A Baltimore restaurant and bar building a worker cooperative around food from immigrant and refugee chefs from around the world. Mera Kitchen Collective scores well because ownership is comparatively aligned and the mod… [5]

Bonus Credits

Bonus	Credit	Why this credit
Cost Transparency ? Credit for clear posted prices, all-in fees, unit costs, public rate cards, margin/cost visibility, or surplus-allocation transparency, especially in markets where opaque quotes, hidden fees, or individualized pricing are normal.	2 / 3	Mera Kitchen publicly discloses the 20% service fee and states how it is shared among the team. Calibration notes Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 201 scored entries below, 12 tied, 13 above on Cost Transparency. Linked evidence Mera Kitchen publicly discloses the 20% service fee and states how it is shared among the team. [4]

Confidence Basis

Confidence is computed from the evidence trail and review state, not typed into the profile by hand.

Medium 67/100

5 verified linked claims 5 direct axis claims 0 disputed claims 5/11 components covered

This confidence label measures the source-backed evidence trail. AI-scaffolded scores remain tentative until human review.

Claim confidence 17/20

5 verified linked claims

Source quality 11/18

Best source per verified claim, weighted by institutional reliability

Direct axis-specific claims 6/18

5 direct claims across 11 active components

Dispute load 12/12

0 disputed claims on this entity

Recency 10/10

Newest accepted timestamp: May 13, 2026

Reviewer status 7/12

Human-reviewed components score higher than AI scaffolding

Component coverage 5/10

5/11 evidence-bearing components have direct support

Evidence State

Profile stateAI draft / human-pending

VerificationUnverified

ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)

ThoroughnessPartial (AI)

Correction routeUse “Challenge this rating” for factual errors, missing counterevidence, source problems, or calculation mistakes.

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Claims and Sources

Claims are the evidence record. Each claim needs a source link, axis category, status, confidence level, and timestamp before it can support a score.

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.

1Mera Kitchen Collective says it is building a worker cooperative in Baltimore and participates democratically while building the business.

Ownership Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 6, 2026

AI scaffold

Mera Kitchen Collective homepageGeneral web source · 58%
Mera Kitchen Collective about usOfficial self-description · 68%

2Mera Kitchen says it adds a 20% service fee to all checks, shared among the entire team to support more sustainable, livable wages.

Labor Sovereignty Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 6, 2026

AI scaffold

Mera Kitchen Collective homepageGeneral web source · 58%

3Mera Kitchen operates a restaurant and bar serving food from chefs from around the world for lunch, dinner, brunch, happy hour, and takeout.

Product Integrity Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 6, 2026

AI scaffold

Mera Kitchen Collective homepageGeneral web source · 58%

4Mera Kitchen publicly discloses the 20% service fee and states how it is shared among the team.

Cost Transparency Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 6, 2026

AI scaffold

Mera Kitchen Collective homepageGeneral web source · 58%

5Mera Kitchen Collective has mixed food exposure high-carbon product exposure based on its listed business model and current profile description: A Baltimore restaurant and bar building a worker cooperative around food from immigrant and refugee chefs from around the world. Mera Kitchen Collective scores well because ownership is comparatively aligned and the mod…

High Carbon Products Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed May 11, 2026

Mera Kitchen Collective public siteGeneral web source · 58%
Our World in Data: Environmental Impacts of Food ProductionGeneral web source · 58%

Alternatives

Competitors

AGOOD61 Three Stone Hearth worker-owned community-supported kitchen · same market AGOOD60 Cheese Board Collective worker cooperative · same market AGOOD60 ChiFresh Kitchen worker-owned prepared-meal cooperative · same market AGOOD59 Alvarado Street Bakery worker-owned bakery · same market AGOOD59 Arizmendi Bakery worker cooperative bakery · same market AGOOD59 Rainbow Grocery Cooperative worker cooperative grocer · same market AGOOD58 Equal Exchange worker cooperative · same market AGOOD58 Niles Pie Company worker-owned pie shop and bakery · same market

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Evidence comes in through contributors, is checked by verifiers, and is synthesized by reviewers. Founder authority remains narrow and visible; scores recalculate when verified claims or the rubric change.

Civic Note

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Audit Log

Recent public changes for this company or group. The full audit log is part of the Transparency record.

May 6, 2026 at 12:00 AM UTC ai-scaffolding

Added source-backed tentative evaluation during the hospitality, travel, restaurants, and better-alternatives expansion pass.

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