I thought this article in today's edition of USA Today was very interesting: Non-Profit Panera Cafe: Take what you need, pay what you can.
It would be interesting to see how this eventually works out.
Very briefly, the former CEO of Panera Cafe, Ron Shaich, "has converted a former Panera-owned restaurant in an urban area of St. Louis into a non-profit restaurant dubbed Saint Louis Bread Company Cares Cafe." The cafe serves the same menu as a standard Panera Bread Cafe but instead of facing a cash register at check-out, patrons face a donation box where they can leave the suggested price for their meal, leave more or eat without paying.
This past Sunday was the first Sunday that the free-will cafe was opened and revenues were up 20% over the previous week.
I hope that USA Today keeps us informed of what happens.
About Me
- PamBG
- I am Pam Berardinelli Garrud (PamBG), a 54 year old wife, daughter and beloved child of God. Ordained as a minister (pastor) in the Methodist Church of Great Britain, in 2009 I re-immigrated back to Northeast Ohio with my London-born husband after 20 years residence in the UK. I am seeking to serve God by loving God and my neighbor in the ministry of hospital chaplaincy. Prior to becoming a minister, I worked in the pensions industry. The views expressed in this Blog are purely my own and do not represent the official views of any denomination, group or organization.
3 comments:
Pam,
I read this story the other day. How cool is that!
I came across a cafe in Skegness in England about twenty years ago which only served drinks. You didn't have to pay for tea or coffee just give a donation.
They also had a praise time three morning a week which were very good and generally quite well attended.
The cafe was still there a last year when we went to Skegness for the day - it is called His Place and is run by an evangelist whose name is Harry Ramsden.
Ian, I've heard of a number of "Christian Cafes" in the UK, although none that operated on the free-will payment system.
The cafe in the article isn't a Christian cafe (in case that wasn't clear).
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