Firestorm Books & Coffee is a

worker-owned A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and Workers' self-management, self-managed by its workers. This control may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision-making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which ...

and self-managed "

anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economi ...

business" in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

. Named after the firestorm, this infoshop operates with an eye on creating a sustainable, radical community event space. Firestorm features regular events, such as film screenings, political and economic teach-ins, local and traveling musicians and community workshops. Firestorm opened in May 2008, spearheaded by co-creators Libertie Valance and is run by an LGBTQ collective.

History

In May 2010, Firestorm was named the "#2 Best Slow Money Business in America" by the Slow Money Alliance. In December 2011, Firestorm was featured in a list of the "10 Coolest Independent Coffee Shops Across the US" surveyed by Zagat, a U.S. publisher of popular restaurant guides. In January 2014, the Firestorm Collective announced that they would be closing the downtown space and looking for a new location in West Asheville. Firestorm was closed from March 2014 to July 2015. In July 2015, the collective officially opened the new space on Haywood Road in West Asheville, under the name Firestorm Books & Coffee. The name change reflected the expanded focus on operating as a bookstore. In August 2018, Firestorm was cited by the City of Asheville for hosting a regular needle exchange event that included the distribution of clean syringes and

naloxone Naloxone, sold under the brand names Narcan (4 mg) and Kloxxado (8 mg) among others, is a medication used to reverse or reduce the effects of opioids. It is commonly used to counter decreased breathing in opioid overdose. Effects begin within ...

. The city alleged that they were operating in violation of zoning code. The violations were later dropped without disruption to the activities originally cited on conditions that the site maintained a medical personnel on site. Firestorm has hosted many notable speakers, including economist Thomas Greco, gay activist

Wayne Besen Wayne Besen is an American LGBT rights advocate. He is a former investigative journalist for WABI-TV, a former spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, and the founder of Truth Wins Out. Besen came out to his parents before starting his Truth Win ...

, the

Beehive Collective The Beehive Design Collective is a Volunteering, volunteer-driven non-profit Artist collective, art collective that uses graphical media as educational tools to communicate stories of Resistance movement, resistance to corporate globalization. Th ...

, environmental scholar Kirkpatrick Sale, activist educator

Bill Ayers William Charles Ayers (; born December 26, 1944) rose to prominence during the 1960s as a domestic terrorist. During the 1960s, Ayers was a leader of the Weather Underground militant group, described by the FBI as a terrorist group. In 196 ...

, and feminist organizer Jenny Brown.

Structure

Firestorm is owned and operated by the Firestorm Collective, a cooperative body that uses formal

consensus decision-making Consensus decision-making or consensus process (often abbreviated to ''consensus'') are group decision-making processes in which participants develop and decide on proposals with the aim, or requirement, of acceptance by all. The focus on es ...

and job complexes to equitably distribute labor and responsibility. In keeping with its identity as an anti-capitalist business, Firestorm is committed to operation without profit, returning 100% of would-be profits to the community.

References

External links

Firestorm.coop
official website
AshevilleLETS.org
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Firestorm Cafe and Books Coffeehouses and cafés in the United States Infoshops Worker cooperatives of the United States Buildings and structures in Asheville, North Carolina Anarchist bookstores 2008 establishments in North Carolina Independent bookstores of the United States

History

Structure

See also

References

External links