# All about Beanchain Coffee

> Learn all about Beanchain Coffee! Beanchain Coffee is a worker-directed coffee shop and community space in Mesa, Arizona. Founded in 2023, we are proving that a business can thrive by centering fairness, dignity, and collaboration. At Beanchain, every team member has a voice in decision-making, and every cup of coffee supports a mission: build a more equitable local economy, one shift, and one connection, at a time.

- **Published**: 2025-07-14
- **Author**: David Baxter
- **Filed under**: Community, Leadership, Cooperatives, Poverty, Worker direction, Initiatives, Solution Seeking System, Coffee
- **Web address**: https://bchain.coffee/post/all-about-beanchain-coffee

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![Beanchain Coffee](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_baeab403cb204f559fec6edcd94b330f.webp)

### Core Purpose and Mission

Beanchain’s mission is simple and ambitious:

- **Build fair, worker-directed coffee shops** that serve their communities.
- **Create a model** that transitions gradually from traditional ownership to a fully democratic, worker-owned cooperative.
- **Fight poverty, promote solidarity, and empower workers** to co-create their workplace.

**Values driving Beanchain:**

- **Good Faith:** Assuming positive intent and communicating transparently.
- **Love:** Building relationships and supporting coworkers and the community.
- **Fairness:** Treating everyone equitably and sharing economic value.

### How Beanchain Aligns with Cooperative Principles

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_97ecae8e71754041a0ff633268bdea8c.webp)

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_97ecae8e71754041a0ff633268bdea8c.webp)

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_05b227b2d08e4ee8a8343337806986a1.webp)

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_05b227b2d08e4ee8a8343337806986a1.webp)

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_d0dde98ef10f4654ab4f80c6ecf0fa44.webp)

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_d0dde98ef10f4654ab4f80c6ecf0fa44.webp)

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_cd196565b34e4b5a8ec16d1b3439ea02.webp)

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_cd196565b34e4b5a8ec16d1b3439ea02.webp)

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_c2d64fea85c94cf4a4b08f4945f7a846.webp)

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_c2d64fea85c94cf4a4b08f4945f7a846.webp)

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_91791c4c075f493597b1acb5c67b5883.webp)

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_91791c4c075f493597b1acb5c67b5883.webp)

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_08ab4c8ec4174427be5f16a600c183f7.webp)

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_08ab4c8ec4174427be5f16a600c183f7.webp)

The **Seven Cooperative Principles** guide Beanchain:

1. **Voluntary and Open Membership:** Open to all, without discrimination.
2. **Democratic Member Control:** Everyone has a voice: one member, one vote.
3. **Member Economic Participation:** Members share profits and control capital.
4. **Autonomy and Independence:** Self-governed, even when partnering externally.
5. **Education, Training, and Information:** Learning is a core practice.
6. **Cooperation Among Cooperatives:** Co-ops help other co-ops grow stronger.
7. **Concern for Community:** People and place come before profit.

**How Beanchain embodies these principles:**

- **Membership:** Any worker can apply to apprentice and eventually become a member.
- **Democratic Control:** Members have equal votes; founders retain a veto until full transition.
- **Economic Participation:** Profits are shared; financial decisions are democratic.
- **Autonomy:** Locally controlled business.
- **Education:** Extensive resources and training in democratic practices.
- **Cooperation:** Incubates other cooperatives and plans the Beanchain Network.
- **Community:** Programs like Pay It Forward meals and Unhoused Help pamphlets serve the public.

### What Beanchain Is

Beanchain is:

- A **worker-directed coffee shop** in Mesa, Arizona.
- A **prototype** for converting conventional businesses into worker-owned cooperatives.
- An **educational laboratory** for tools like the Solution Seeking System.
- A **community hub** offering resources, events, and mutual aid.
- An **incubator** for future cooperatives in other sectors.

It is a café, and it is also a real-world experiment proving that business can be fair, democratic, and community-focused.

### Organizational Structure and Lifecycle

#### Current Model: Worker-Directed

- **Founder Authority:** Founders retain some powers, including a veto, to protect early stability.
- **Democratic Practices:** Workers participate in forums, casual voting, and team-based incentives.
- **Gradual Transition:** Founders are repaid over time, and workers become members.

#### Roles Defined

**Founder**

- Early contributors of time, money, and risk.
- **Expectations:** Communication, support, shared administration.
- **Perks:** Veto vote (sparingly used), profit share, eventual buyout by members.

**Member**

- Workers completing apprenticeship and approved unanimously.
- **Perks:** Voting rights, profit sharing, retirement package, hardship wage postponement.

**Apprentice**

- Workers training for membership under a mentor.
- **Process:** Voluntary initiation, pre-assessment, minimum one-year apprenticeship, final unanimous vote.

**Worker**

- Baristas and general staff.
- **Perks:** Healthcare assistance, living wage commitment, path to apprenticeship.

### The Co-Worker Mutual Agreement

This foundational document outlines mutual commitments:

- Operate in good faith.
- Communicate clearly and early.
- Perform duties diligently.
- Be punctual.
- Show kindness to customers and coworkers.
- Avoid gossip.
- Stay non-violent and compassionate under stress.

**Special Policies:**

- **Shift Coverage:** Clear procedures.
- **Disruptive Guests:** Compassionate, safe responses.
- **Zero Tolerance:** Violence and bigotry result in immediate termination.
- **Gossip:** Two solution-seeking sessions before termination is an option.

### The Solution Seeking System

The Solution Seeking System assists **systems(any group of people)** by identifying **solutions** that improve communication, connection, wisdom, leadership, or any other aspect of those systems. It creates a smooth cycle of growth and change that creates **living systems** that can better serve their participants.

Within the Beanchain, we use the Solution Seeking System in combination with other leadership tools to build a seamless cycle of growth that rewards its participants for bravely communicating and understanding one another.

**Key Terms:**

- **System:** Any group of people interacting with one another in an organized way. This could be a relationship between two people, a club with many members, a business, or any other kind of human organization.
- **Solution:**  An actionable and measurable plan/pattern/tool that can be used to improve a **System**.
- **Communication Protocol:** The 3-Step communication pattern that is used to create understanding and output **solutions**. This tool is the foundation of the solution seeking system.  The three steps are Introspection, Finding mutual Understanding, and then Solution Seeking.
- **Living System:** A **system** that is being actively built and improved on using **solutions** output through the **Solution Seeking Protocol**.
- **Wisdom Principles:** Concepts that are used in the Solution Seeking Philosophy. These are ideas that will need to be well understood for the **Communication Protocol** to be properly used.
- **Leadership Tools:** Tools that use the **Communication Protocol** to help generate **solutions**. These tools are key to the improvement and maintenance of a **System.**
- **Leader (Servant):** An individual interested in the service, maintenance, and development of the **system** in which they are participating. A person entrusted with authority with the goal of guardianship over the **system**.

**Communication Protocol:**

1. **Introspection:** Reflect before engaging.
2. **Mutual Understanding:** Engage in non-judgmental listening and clarifying questions to find mutual understanding.
3. **Solution Seeking:** Build actionable solutions together.

### Leadership Tools

- **Feedback:** Informal teaching and trust-building.
- **Targeted Conversations:** Private discussions when feedback isn’t enough.
- **Solution Seeking Sessions:** Formal processes for recurring or serious issues.
- **One-on-Ones:** Monthly check-ins for relationship-building.
- **Performance Reviews:** Every ~2 months, with clear ratings.
- **Escalation:** Five unsuccessful solution-seeking attempts can result in termination. For serious misconduct, fewer attempts are needed.

### Day-to-Day Practices

- Daily checklists (opening, closing, shift changes).
- Communication via Discord and Miro.
- Emphasis on clarity, voting, and participation.

### Compensation and Economic Participation

- Commitment to a **living wage** ($21/hr + tips in Mesa).
- Profit sharing after operational costs.
- Option for wage postponement with 5% interest.

### Community Programs

**Beanchain Community Book:**

- A public journal for writing and drawing.
- Archived online when filled.

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_8920652ad1c543789903223f7563070f.webp)

**Pay It Forward Board:**

- Customers can pre-purchase meals for neighbors in need.
- Meals can be purchased in store and online: [https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/YQMTTJ42SJA2Y](https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/YQMTTJ42SJA2Y)

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_f3193ecfad894cff94c1b0a815f40ecc.webp)

**Unhoused Help Pamphlets:**

- Guides listing local resources for unhoused neighbors.
- Available in-store and online: [Unhoused Help](https://bchain.coffee/unhousedhelp)

![Unhoused Help](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_bcdd7b7a6a774321a06c0aa34bd69898.webp)

**Shared Workspace:**

- Free space with seating, printers, whiteboards, and QR ordering.

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_cc49542968124d1d97d80d7e3f425863.webp)

**Community Art Space:**

- Free gallery wall, [Sign up here](https://forms.gle/Dxn4ywqVyNzybauu6)

![Art Gallery](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_ba0e6cfb25cf4ba59b366a2c547b5f69.webp)

**Community Library:**

- Curated by community recommendations.

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_9e848e35012e49bab9900ddb7b4bac01.webp)

**Local Marketplace:**

- Exclusively for local small businesses vetted for ethical practices.

![](https://bchain.coffee/blog/d23aa7_6bc5f6c55cd94dbcb32aab0f0ad5d462.webp)

### Cooperative Incubation & Future Projects

**Beanchain Network (Future Nonprofit):**

- Support multiple locations while preserving local ownership.

**Other Projects in Development:**

- **Beanchain Marketing Cooperative**
- **Solution Seeking Company**
- **Beanchain Music Cooperative & Baristers**

### Quotes and Community Voices

**From David Baxter:**

> “I’ve been shaped by my experiences with poverty, and no one else should have to experience what I did. Beanchain is a reflection of that mission.”

**From Shannon Baxter:**

> “When humans experience poverty, the first to suffer are the animals. By fighting poverty for humans, my hope is we can end poverty for animals as well.”

**Community Testimonials:**

> “I used your pay-it-forward board 3 days in a row. I just got a job and wanted to thank you for feeding me this week. It really helped.”

> “I just moved to Arizona and had a hard time finding my community, but I feel like I found it here at Beanchain.”

### Contacts & Location

**Address:**1110 W Southern Avenue, Mesa, AZ 85210 Suite 8

**Contacts:**

- David Baxter – (480) 201-6965 – [david.baxter@bchain.coffee](mailto:david.baxter@bchain.coffee)
- Shannon Baxter – (480) 332-8026 – [shannon.baxter@bchain.coffee](mailto:shannon.baxter@bchain.coffee)

### Next Steps

**Milestones:**

- Accept the first apprentices.
- Transition workers into membership.
- Complete living wage implementation.
- Launch the Beanchain Network nonprofit.
- Develop and distribute Solution Seeking System resources.

### Why Beanchain Matters

Beanchain is:

- A **practical experiment** in worker democracy.
- A **local business** solving real problems.
- A **prototype** for a more equitable economy.

Its work shows:

- Business can be fair and community-rooted.
- Workers can and should be trusted with power.
- Poverty and isolation can be met with solidarity and creativity.

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Beanchain Coffee LLC, Mesa, Arizona. Since 2021.
Source: https://bchain.coffee/post/all-about-beanchain-coffee