SAME Cafe
Encyclopedia
The SAME Cafe is a nonprofit community cafe located at 2023 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, Colorado
. Brad and Libby Birky invested $30,000 to open the restaurant on October 20, 2006, inspired by their background in community service and a visit to the One World Cafe
in Salt Lake City, Utah. The name is an acronym for "So All May Eat", and their motto is "Making healthy, organic food available to all". They offer higher quality food in a pay what you can
format where the diner puts what they feel their meal was worth in a donation envelope. They also accept an hour of work in exchange for a meal, made possible by Colorado laws which do not require a food handlers certificate for restaurant workers.
, higher end grocery stores such as Whole Foods Market
and even the Denver Botanic Gardens
.
They are open for lunch six days a week and closed on Sunday.
broadcast, Brian Williams
singled out the SAME Cafe for recognition in the "Make a Difference" segment. That broadcast inspired Panera Bread
CEO Ron Shaich to create a similar restaurant, Panera Cares.
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. Brad and Libby Birky invested $30,000 to open the restaurant on October 20, 2006, inspired by their background in community service and a visit to the One World Cafe
One World Cafe
One World Everybody Eats is a nonprofit community kitchen and foundation based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Its motto is "a hand up, not a hand out." The community kitchen concept is a restaurant based on a gift economy, allowing patrons to "pay what they can" and serving all members of the...
in Salt Lake City, Utah. The name is an acronym for "So All May Eat", and their motto is "Making healthy, organic food available to all". They offer higher quality food in a pay what you can
Pay what you can
Pay what you can is a non-profit or for-profit business model which does not depend on set prices for its goods, but instead asks customers to pay what they feel the product or service is worth to them. It is often used as a promotional tactic, but can also be the regular method of doing business...
format where the diner puts what they feel their meal was worth in a donation envelope. They also accept an hour of work in exchange for a meal, made possible by Colorado laws which do not require a food handlers certificate for restaurant workers.
Economics
They pay about $2,000 a month for rent and approximately $2,000 for the food. Before their expansion in November, 2008 they served 40-50 meals a day with seven tables. Since the expansion they now serve 75-100 meals a day. The average cost of a meal is approximately $2 and the average donation per meal determined by a reporter was $3.66. Over time, the average donation has decreased, but it was offset by an increase in customers. They offer a limited menu which changes daily, simplifying the variety of food they need to purchase and reducing the amount of wasted food. They buy from a variety of sources, including warehouse stores such as Sam's ClubSam's Club
Sam's Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. , the Sam's Club chain serves more than 47 million U.S. members...
, higher end grocery stores such as Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
and even the Denver Botanic Gardens
Denver Botanic Gardens
The Denver Botanic Gardens is a public botanical garden located in Denver, Colorado in the Cheesman Park neighborhood. The park contains a conservatory, a variety of theme gardens and a sunken amphitheater, which hosts various concerts in the summer...
.
They are open for lunch six days a week and closed on Sunday.
Recognition
On the March 9, 2009 NBC Nightly NewsNBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
broadcast, Brian Williams
Brian Williams
Brian Douglas Williams is the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, the evening news program of the NBC television network, a position he assumed in 2004...
singled out the SAME Cafe for recognition in the "Make a Difference" segment. That broadcast inspired Panera Bread
Panera Bread
Panera Bread is a chain of bakery–café quick casual restaurants in the United States and Canada that sells breads, sandwiches, soups, salads, and other bakery items. Its headquarters are in Sunset Hills, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.-Corporate history:In 1993, Au Bon Pain Co...
CEO Ron Shaich to create a similar restaurant, Panera Cares.