Sorry. When I first read it I was under the impression that the cafe/meeting space was only a component.

The first step is to make yourself familiar with the cooperative business model. You will probably want to look into operating as worker owned cooperative. If community support is strong enough, you could try to put together community ownership. The important aspect in this decision is who is interested in buying a membership in this business? Those memberships are your primary source of equity, your operating capital, and are going to be essential in trying to get loans or leases on space.

The second step is to look for other people who are interested in working on this project. You will want to find people who will round out the skill sets you will need to open this cafe. Start with somebody who has restaurant experience. Cafes operate on thin margins and operating a kitchen is not for beginners.

If you are unable to put together a team of people who have the required knowledge, there is another route. There is a consultant that I have worked with who is base in SF and specializes in working with coops and natural foods deli operations. This option is not cheap. I don't know what it will cost but when you go the consulting route, you are paying for knowledge and experience. However, this is better than trying to figure it out as you go if you don't have enough knowledge or experience. The start-up phase of any business is crucial to success and not a time to be figuring everything out. You need to be sure of the core skills at the least. The nuances and details can be figured out as you go.

I hope this helps get you started.

Cheers and good luck.