Tierra Sana in Queens, N.Y., institued a pay-what-you-want special on Tuesdays. Owner Vic Fiallo said he wants to let diners affordably experience Tierra Sana's healthy, organic cuisine. "Health food doesn't have to be expensive or tasteless," he said. And the benefits of making new regular customers -- who may, like one quoted in the New York Daily News, pay more than list price for their favorite dishes -- seem to outweigh the loss from those who opt to pay less.
Other restaurants let customers pay what they want every day. The SAME Cafe (So All May Eat) in Denver, Colo., operates as a non-profit restaurant. A donation box takes the place of a cash register, and patrons who can't afford to pay anything are asked to volunteer an hour of their time helping out in the cafe.
"It is the intent of SAME Cafe to build a healthy community by providing a basic need of food in a respectful and dignified manner to anyone who walks through the door," says a statement on the restaurant's Web site. In a photo slideshow, Westworld revealed what a sampling of SAME Cafe patrons paid for their meals: Some paid $1 while others paid $10 for comparably sized lunches, while another opted to pay nothing and wash dishes for two hours instead.
Other U.S. restaurants that have adopted the pay-what-you-want system include the Terra Bite Lounge in Kirkland, Wash., and the One World Everybody Eats chain with locations in Salt Lake City, Spokane, Wash., Charleston, S.C., and Durham, N.C.
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