7 Black-owned RVA restaurants are offering pay-what-you-can this week
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Seven Richmond restaurants are offering pay-what-you-can days this week.
Why it matters: The initiative is from Black-owned local restaurants in celebration of Black History Month.
The big picture: Philly Vegan in Manchester brought together six other local restaurants for the three days of deals, taking citywide the concept it's been running monthly since it opened during the pandemic.
- "In the middle of Black History Month WE ARE MAKING HISTORY by doing something that has NEVER been done before," the plant-based cheese steak shop wrote in an Instagram post.
- The focus is both the Richmond Black-owned restaurant community and the local diners who support them, the post added.
How it works: Diners simply show up at the participating restaurants during their participating days and hours, order and pay whatever they can.
- If that amount is nothing, diners can choose one item for free.
This week's pay-what-you-can schedule:
Tuesday
- Urban Hang Suite in downtown, 7:30am-2pm.
- Philly Vegan in Manchester, 11:30am-8pm
- Charles Kitchen in Innsbrook, noon-2pm.
- Mama J's in Jackson Ward, 2-5pm.
Wednesday
- Philly Vegan, 11:30am-8pm
- Croaker's Spot in Manchester, noon-4pm
- Inner City Blues in the East End, 1-4pm
- Mama J's, 2-5pm.
Friday
- Philly Vegan, 11:30am-9pm
- The Original Ronnie's BBQ in Eastern Henrico, noon-4pm
Zoom in: Tuesday's lunch service for Philly Vegan was their biggest pay-what-you-can day ever, Philly Vegan co-owner Samuel Veney tells Axios.
- The restaurant ran out of food for the day around 3pm, which Veney said underscores the collective power in helping others.
What's next: Veney tells Axios he hopes to make pay-what-you-can collaborations a quarterly event.