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How do you open a brick-and-mortar restaurant in the middle of a pandemic—and thrive? One answer: Break the paradigm and go co-op, à la Mirisata, Portland’s only Sri Lankan restaurant, which is also vegan and entirely BIPOC- and worker-owned. The SE Belmont spot’s prospective owners prove themselves not with a fat wad of start-up cash, but via a few months of a trial working period. During the height of the pandemic, Mirisata went from pop-up to brick-and-mortar restaurant using small loans from customers and friends. Another innovation: a buy-in membership program for $40 a year, which includes perks like discounts on orders. So far, Mirisata is Portland’s only restaurant operating under a co-op model, but its worker-owners say it’s a way forward for those who’ve historically faced barriers, including women and people of color, to gain business ownership in a notoriously brutal industry.

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