Wash a Few Dishes for Lunch
Remember the days when diners who came up short had to wash a few plates to pay for lunch? Those days are alive at SAME (So All May Eat) Cafe, a neat new restaurant I tried out in Denver not long ago. The owners offer a pretty healthy, mostly organic menu that features such treats as pear and gorgonzola pizza. But the most novel aspect of the place is the payment system, outlined in a sign on the wall. Guests can either pay whatever they think the meal was worth, or work in the kitchen for an hour in exchange for a meal.
After a tasty lunch, I weighed the options.
I decided to try my hand at dishwashing. Even though the owner had pretty stringent standards, my kitchen duty was fun. Above all, it gave me the chance to get the view from the other side of the counter. The owners, Brad and Libby Birky, explained that the place is more an exercise in sustainable eating and community activism than a money making venture. As it turns out they break fairly even on the costs of paying for food and managing the place.
Anyway passing through Denver should check out SAME Cafe at 2023 Colfax Ave. (720-530-6853), not far from downtown.
Sound like the kind of place you would patronize? If so, would you pay or work for lunch? Do share!
By Gary Lee |
May 24, 2007; 9:55 AM ET
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Dining
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Gary Lee
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Posted by: Anonymous | May 24, 2007 10:53 AM
So Others Might Eat is a non-profit organization, headquartered here in DC that operates on comparable principles-- people helping out to provide for themselves. Every year here in DC, SOME has the "Empty Bowls" event, where a $20 contribution you can choose a handmade bowl created by a local artist, have a delicious soup supper, and take your bowl home with you! This year's soup supper raised $11,000+ for meal services. For more event info, click here. I'd love to see a SAME Café open in the DC area like the one Gary describes in Denver-- not the same organization as SOME in DC, but very similar concepts.
Posted by: Casta Lusoria | May 24, 2007 5:08 PM
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If I had the time, I'd probably work for it. Washing dishes even to health code standards isn't really all that hard. (In the interest of full disclosure, I also used to belong to a co-op where this was fairly standard practice; there were like 60-80 of us and we did 5 total hours of cooking/cleaning -- one of which had to be cleaning up after a meal -- in exchange for our weekly meals, and periodically the health inspector came through and graded us like a restaurant.)