Can you imagine going to a restaurant where there are no prices listed on the menu?What about an eating establishment that has a sign that reads: “Pay what you can afford?”
A café of this variety has been operating by Libby and Brad Birky in Los Angeles, for the last six months. This is a SAME eatery meaning: So All May Eat.
Unlike a soup kitchen where the hungry are rounded up and publicly identified, this is a restaurant with tables open to all without distinction.
The No Price policy means those who have more wealth can pay for those who have little or none. Those who choose may go to the kitchen to dice onions or wash the dishes or volunteer to serve at the tables.
Although feeding the body is an essential factor for Libby and Brad, the open table beams out the message that everyone is valuable, thus providing nurture for the person’s wellbeing.
Read more of Stephanie Simon’s interesting article to discover why this couple got into this caper and what draws customers to the tables of this little café.
Source: Stephanie Simon, ‘Where the table is open to all’, LA Times, 16 April 2007.
Geoff Pound
Image: ‘Open to all.’