Is Pay-What-You-Want the Next Recession Dining Trend?

Published on Friday, March 13, 2009, by Roxanne Webber / Edit Post

The Wall Street Journal has posted a video segment about the Little Bay restaurant chain in London, which is now letting customers choose how much they want to pay for their meal.

It’s a clever way to get people in the door during a down economy, and it will be interesting to see if any other restaurants follow suit. Of course, Salt Lake City’s One World Café has been doing the pay-what-you-like thing since 2005. It also lets customers specify what portions they’d like, which seems like a brilliant idea even for restaurants with a more traditional “pay-what-we-ask” model. And then there’s the Hi-Life in Seattle which pegs the cost of its nightly specials to the closing price of the Dow—which means the more stocks fall, the better the bargain.

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  • g rizzle, i'm sorry to hear you feel that way, but people might surprise you if you gave them a chance. NBC Nightly News did a follow-up story tonight on SAME Cafe...apparently their initial story last week inspired a groundswell of goodwill. following the broadcast, the cafe received over 4,000 e-mails and TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS in donations from people all over the country!

  • One World covers their costs just fine, but they are a nonprofit. We love the community kitchen idea here in Salt Lake. The idea is to go in and pay what you think is fair, based on other restaurants, instead of just paying whatever you want. If you would pay $8 for your meal at Denny's, you should pay at least that much at One World, and people usually do. If you're on a limited budget, you can...+READ

    One World covers their costs just fine, but they are a nonprofit. We love the community kitchen idea here in Salt Lake. The idea is to go in and pay what you think is fair, based on other restaurants, instead of just paying whatever you want. If you would pay $8 for your meal at Denny's, you should pay at least that much at One World, and people usually do. If you're on a limited budget, you can walk in and ask for a $4 plate (or a $6 plate or a $2 plate or whatever). You can choose your portion, which cuts down on the food waste frequently seen at chain shops. They always have one dish, daal and rice, that's available at no cost to anyone who wants some, or you can load up your plate once for every volunteer hour you put in. Their paid staff make a living wage, and people in need of job skills can come and be trained in the restaurant world. Oh, and the food is excellent.-COLLAPSE

  • This wouldn't work in most of the US that's for sure...especially in the Part of the Midwest that I'm from (the kind of customerswho would orer a Kobe steak well done). There is no way the averages would cover food costs.

  • i posted about a similar place in Denver, Colorado called SAME ("So All May Eat) Cafe sometime last year when i first heard about it...i thought the concept was fascinating and inspired. so of course my ears perked up when it was featured on NBC Nightly News just last week.

    people pay as much or as little as they can (or want to), and those who can't afford to pay anything contribute their time...+READ

    i posted about a similar place in Denver, Colorado called SAME ("So All May Eat) Cafe sometime last year when i first heard about it...i thought the concept was fascinating and inspired. so of course my ears perked up when it was featured on NBC Nightly News just last week.

    people pay as much or as little as they can (or want to), and those who can't afford to pay anything contribute their time & energy instead - e.g. cleaning, doing dishes, etc. i've never been there, and i don't live anywhere near Colorado, but i think it's a brilliant idea, and i hope more places like it spring up in other markets.

    http://www.soallmayeat.org/-COLLAPSE