Riverside Collective's coffee shop shift manager Zack Ormond, a graduate of Murrah High School, prepares espresso Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. The collective's worker-owned coffee and ice cream bar in south Jackson was created to teach student employees from Jackson Public Schools about entrepreneurship while paying them a fair wage. Credit: Maya Miller/Mississippi Today
In July, Riverside Collective opened a cafe in an abandoned Regions Bank building in south Jackson. With plans to become a community hub, the initiative seeks to teach young people about the value of work while paying them a fair wage.