> [A chain of 300+ restaurants run democratically as workers cooperatives,
> with a 50-year history, looks like a rather remarkable case of
> worker-ownership-and-control.--DC]

> http://tinyurl.com/2kauj6
> Fifty piping hot years of Indian Coffee House
> Web posted at: 3/9/2008 7:46:46
> Source ::: IANS

> kozhikode € If you sip a cup of hot coffee at the Indian Coffee House,
> you contribute to the cause of the working class. The popular restaurant
> chain, run by workers¹ cooperatives, marks its golden jubilee this year.

> There are about 70 Indian Coffee Houses in Kerala that dish out idli,
> dosa, vada, biryani and of course coffee among other things. But since
> the chain has branches all over India, the fare varies from region to
> region.

> You can be sure of tasty, clean and reasonably priced fare at the Indian
> Coffee House. The Kerala branches function under two workers¹ societies,
> one based at Thrissur and the other in Kannur. ŒWe serve 10,000
> afternoon meals a day and 25,000 people visit our 17 outlets daily,¹
> I.V. Sivaraman, president of the Kannur-based Indian Coffee Board
> Workers¹ Cooperative Society, said.

> The all-India branches are under their respective regional societies,
> most of which are affiliated to the All India Coffee Workers¹
> Cooperative Societies¹ Federation.

> The societies in Kerala were set up in 1958 and are celebrating their
> golden jubilee this year. It was a year earlier in 1957 that the coffee
> houses came to be owned by workers. The Coffee Board, which was running
> these restaurants, decided to close them and retrench the workers.

> Witnessing the plight of workers, Communist Party of India-Marxist
> (CPI-M) leader A K Gopalan, the first leader of the opposition in the
> Indian parliament, organised them and founded the Indian Coffee Board
> Workers¹ Cooperative Society. The first society was set up in Bangalore
> on Aug 19, 1957.

> ŒNow, there are 11 Indian Coffee Board Workers¹ Societies in the country
> and they have more than 300 restaurants. There are also three societies
> which are not affiliated to the all-India federation,¹ says Sivaraman,
> who is also deputy chairman of the federation.

> ŒThe society is truly a workers¹ cooperative. The president is elected
> from among the workers. Any worker can contest the polls. The society is
> run by a board of directors, with workers as members,¹ said V.
> Sasidharan Nair, president of the Thrissur-based workers¹ cooperative
> society. ŒWe have 52 restaurants across Kerala. Last year the turnover
> was Rs.340 million. The society is a non-profit organisation. As a
> workers¹ venture the profit will go as benefits to them,¹ he added.

> The coffee houses vouch that their aim is to provide quality food at a
> low cost.¹You know how the price of provisions, especially rice, went up
> here. We did not hike the prices proportionately,¹ said Sivaraman. The
> Kannur society clocked a Rs130m turnover last financial year. However,
> the profit was only Rs115,000.

> ŒThis shows that we are not for profiteering. As a workers¹ cooperative,
> we give all the benefits to our workers, just like in a government
> service,¹ says Sivaraman.