A Pay-What-You-Want Restaurant Nears Its Sixth Year Of Successful Business
From automation to subscription models, restaurants are pulling out all the stops in response to the changing consumer climate. One restaurant based in North Carolina chose a different approach, and against all expectations, has managed to find success.
Located in downtown Raleigh, A Place at the Table is a non-profit cafe that operates using a pay-what-you-want model. They offer breakfast through dinner no matter your budget. It was opened by Maggie Kane who grew up volunteering in soup kitchens. With a lifelong passion for helping the less fortunate, it would seem Kane was destined to open A Place at the Table.
In an interview with The Hill, Kane shared her thoughts on the cafe’s success, “Am I surprised? I’m surprised, every single day, by just how beautiful this place is. I’m surprised that it’s worked, that it’s continued to work and I’m grateful.”
The restaurant industry was rocked by the impact of the pandemic, with many having to shutter their doors. Thanks to donations from people who support Kane’s approach, A Place at the Table managed to not only survive, but thrive as well, growing to attract over 400 customers daily. Fast forward nearly six years later, and it’s clear that the experiment works.
“We actually became a serving line out here, so we just passed out meals, everything was free, we had a line upwards of 450 people, every single day,” Kane says of her experience during the pandemic.
When you walk into A Place at the Table, you have the option of paying the listed price, paying at least $3 for your meal, paying with a PLACE gift card, or by volunteering at least an hour. That’s a pretty flexible offering for patrons. In addition to payment options, you can contribute to the mission by tipping or buying a $10 PLACE gift card.
“We run like any normal restaurant would,” Kane shares. “You walk in and, you’ll see in a minute, it looks and feels like a normal restaurant. You wouldn’t know until you walk up to the register and you see suggested pricing, you see some folks with volunteer name tags.”
What started as a desire to help grew into a community staple that stands as an example of what’s possible when you put people first. The pay-what-you-want-model is by no means easy to successfully pull off. One regular named Nate was homeless when he first began coming. Today, with the help of A Place at the Table, he says he’s in a much better place.
“One reason is, everyone here loves you and you can feel the love. I feel good whenever I leave here. I come here just about every day – like, I woke up late this morning, had a lot of stuff to do, said well, I’m going to go by Place at the Table and still go by because I feel good the rest of the day.”
