Help Save Shoofly Vegan Bakery

We the baristas, bakers and delivery driver for Shoofly Vegan Bakery are trying to either buy our business from our new owner, Tien Vominh, and turn it into a worker-owned cooperative or, failing that, start a new vegan wholesale bakery co-op.

Since taking ownership, and despite claiming to operate on an "absentee owner" model, he has made numerous unnecessary purchases to mold the business into his vision, without providing the staffing or infrastructure required to actually implement his proposed changes, leaving us with useless equipment and unsustainable costs. This has led to turnover, unsustainable working conditions, early cafe closures, and damaged relationships with our wholesale clients. Citing these (self-inflicted) high costs, Tien made the unilateral decision to shutter our wholesale operation, and fire all but two of our bakers. 

Not only is this an unsustainable model for even the cafe's survival, but it undermines the community of Portland coffee shops and customers that have come to rely on us as a source for organic, delicious vegan goods. When Tien took over this business, he made a promise to both us and the former owner to prioritize the workers and the community that we have built. His actions are a thorough violation of that promise, and the trust placed in him.  

On May 2nd, we made a collective decision to suspend all work due to the egregious firing of our workers, and our second delayed paycheck in a row. It was a difficult decision, but it has become clear to us that it was a choice between this, or allowing the bakery we love to slide into irrelevance and bankruptcy, which is no choice at all.  

Currently, we are working to raise funds to purchase Shoofly from Tien and turn it into a worker-owned cooperative, putting the power into the hands of the workers who made it successful. We are calling on the community of Portland vegans and lovers of baked goods to support us in this effort. 

We know how to run this business. We’ve done it for many years and built a thriving, award-winning Portland staple. We are not about to give up our labor of love without a fight! 

Please follow us at @workers_for_shoofly for further updates on our upcoming bake sales and community events to support our fundraising.