Raleigh’s first pay-what-you-can cafe is celebrating its birthday on Thursday.
A Place at the Table opened in January 2018 on West Hargett St. in downtown Raleigh.
The restaurant will celebrate by serving cake and handing out balloons starting at 8 a.m.
The cafe has a laid-back coffee shop atmosphere with a menu that includes buttermilk biscuits with sage sausage gravy and an assortment of sandwiches and waffles. All food and beverages are pay-what-you-can.
The pay-what-you-can model allows people to pay in a variety of ways:
- Pay the suggested price
- Pay at least $3 for your meal
- Pay using a PLACE Card
- Pay by volunteering at least an hour
The nonprofit’s pay-what-you-can approach for food and drink is based on a model by the One World Every Body Eats Foundation. There are more than 60 cafes operating with this approach.
The restaurant’s founder, Maggie Kane, was gifted $100,000 on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” in 2023.
A Place at the Table has been featured on NBC’s Today Show and Kane has been honored with various awards including the WRAL Voters’ Choice Award for Woman of the Year in 2020 and Business Leader of the Year in 2024.
The cafe’s first food truck launched in 2024. The Travelin’ Table has similar menu items from the cafe like huevos rancheros, quiche and biscuits.
