Employee-owned businesses are on the rise in Pennsylvania — including Philadelphia icon Wawa — modeled on valuing employees and providing stability, writes Violet Comber-Wilen for Billy Penn at WHYY.

Keystone Bike Co., a worker-owned cooperative in South Kensington, is another among them. Zach Rachell, a worker-owner, believes the unique ownership structure is one of the company’s greatest strengths.

“A lot of bike shops have been closing the last couple of years,” he said. “My personal feeling is that this kind of structure is what has helped us navigate the challenges of 2020, and even the tumultuous market that we’re in right now.”

The business started in 2020. The five founding worker-owners still work at the store as operating employees.

“We practice democratic decision making, as do most cooperatives, and operate with an operating agreement,” said Woody Felice, another worker-owner.

According to Ashleigh Newlin, who works with Chartwell, a Philadelphia-based financial advisory firm focusing on employee-owned companies, such businesses aim to build a strong culture through retirement wealth, among other initiatives.

“All different kinds of companies have ESOPs, small and large companies, but the one thing in common is that they want to build retirement wealth for their employees and not just the leaders, but everyone in the company,” she said.

Read more about employee-owned companies locally and regionally in Billy Penn at WHYY.

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on PHILADELPHIA Today in October 2025.