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2025-04-01T00:20:52Z

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{{short description|Community cafe in Denver, Colorado, USA and Toledo, Ohio, USA}}
[[File:SAME Cafe Storefront.jpg|300px|thumb|SAME Cafe Storefront]]The '''SAME Cafe''' is a nonprofit community cafe with locations in [[Denver, Colorado]], [[United States]] and [[Toledo, Ohio]], United States. Brad and Libby Birky invested $30,000 to open the original restaurant at 2023 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, on October 20, 2006, inspired by their background in community service and a visit to the [[One World Cafe]] in [[Salt Lake City|Salt Lake City, Utah]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/03/the-pay-as-you-can-cafe/|title=The 'pay as you can' cafe|last=Gergen|first=Chris|author2=Gregg Vanourek |date=December 3, 2008|work=Washington Times|access-date=2009-03-10}}</ref> They opened the second SAME Cafe site in November 2022, in the Main Library of Toledo, OH. 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 box. They also accept a 1/2 hour of volunteer help in exchange for a meal, made possible by Colorado laws which do not require a food handlers certificate for restaurant workers.<ref name="westword">{{cite news|url=http://www.westword.com/2009-02-26/news/same-cafe-the-restaurant-where-you-pay-what-you-can/1|title=SAME Cafe: The restaurant where you pay what you can|last=Maher|first=Jared Jacang |date=February 25, 2009|publisher=Denver Westword News|access-date=2009-03-10}}</ref>

==Economics==
{{Overly detailed|section|date=April 2025}}
They pay about $2,500 a month for rent and approximately $2,500 for the food.<ref name="westword"/> Before their expansion in November, 2008 they served 40–50 meals a day with seven tables.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5490648,00.html |title=SAME Cafe: So All May Eat; Restaurant serves food to everyone; pay if you can |last=Meadow |first=James B. |date=April 18, 2007 |publisher=Rocky Mountain News |access-date=2009-03-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219073732/http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5490648,00.html |archive-date=February 19, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="denverpost">{{cite news|url=http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_10663218|title=SAME making difference|last=Porter|first=William|date=October 8, 2008|publisher=Denver Post|access-date=2009-03-10}}</ref> Since the expansion they now serve 75–100 meals a day. The average food cost is approximately $3 and the average donation per meal determined by a reporter was $3.66.<ref name="westword"/> 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 direct from local farmers, warehouse stores such as [[Costco]], higher end grocery stores such as [[Whole Foods Market]] and even the [[Denver Botanic Gardens]].<ref name="westword"/>

They were originally open for lunch six days a week and closed on Sunday. Currently, they are only open Monday through Friday.

==Recognition==
On the March 9, 2009 ''[[NBC Nightly News]]'' broadcast, [[Brian Williams]] singled out the SAME Cafe for recognition in the "Make a Difference" segment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21134540|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129090138/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21134540/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 29, 2013|title=In Denver, a pay-what-you-can café|last=O'Neil|first=Roger|date=March 9, 2009|publisher=NBC News|access-date=2009-03-10}}</ref> That broadcast inspired [[Panera Bread]] CEO Ron Shaich to create in 2010 a chain of six similar restaurants, Panera Cares,<ref name=nbcnews>{{cite web|title=Panera Cares|url=http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/06/06/6797708-panera-cares-community-cafe-|work=7 June 2011|publisher=msnbc.com|access-date=7 June 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905055119/http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/06/06/6797708-panera-cares-community-cafe|archive-date=5 September 2011}}</ref> all of which closed by 2019.<ref>{{Cite news | url = https://www.nrn.com/fast-casual/panera-bread-closes-last-pay-what-you-can-restaurant | title = Panera Bread closes last pay-what-you-can restaurant | publisher = Nation's Restaurant News | date = February 6, 2019 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.soallmayeat.org Soallmayeat.org]

{{coord|39.739914|-104.96288|name=SAME Cafe|type:landmark|display=title}}

[[Category:Simple living]]
[[Category:Companies based in Denver]]

SAME Cafe - Revision history

imported>BorneoIsland: /* Economics */