Not only was the menu unconventional, so was the business model. Bartertown was a collective, which meant there were no bosses, according to Cappelletti. The inspiration for the worker-owned restaurant was based on Cappelletti's own restaurant experience.

"Because of our economy, people are working 12- to-15-hour shifts, servers take home $200 to $300 a night in tips, the cooks are making $10 an hour and the owner takes whatever he takes, " Cappelletti told MLive in 2011. "We're going to have equal pay and equal say across the board. Everyone working together."

Employees would be expected to join the union, Industrial Workers of the World, he said.

In keeping with the worker empowerment theme, he commissioned a mural depicting Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong and other provocative leaders tackling restaurant duties.

In the end, the restaurant failed to achieve the employee business model it envisioned.

"It had never been a worker-owned restaurant," said Cummings. "That was a misnomer. We still bought locally and paid living wages."

The living wage, no-tipping model required the restaurant to do a high level of sales to sustain the higher operational costs, he added.

While the restaurant's menu garnered a loyal following and hefty praise, there were complaints about 40-minute waits for sandwiches and limited hours of operation.