SAME Cafe: So All May Eat

Restaurant serves food to everyone; pay if you can

James B. Meadow, Rocky Mountain News

Published April 18, 2007 at midnight

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Apple and blue cheese pizza: Uh, 10 bucks, maybe?

Creamy spring onion soup: Whattaya say - a fiver?

The philosophy of SAME Cafe?

Priceless.

On a little concrete patch of one of Denver's grittiest avenues, Hunter Dragon is back for his daily taste of a miracle. The 25-year- old musician ("I'm a troubadour") who seems equal parts beard, stocking cap, tattoos, rolled-up pants, intelligence and good vibes is finishing up his lunch at the SAME. Soon, he will pay for his meal the way about half of the clients do - by working it off with a little elbow grease and a measure of dignity.

In Dragon's case, he will wash dishes. He may mop the floor. Doesn't matter. What does matter is, "You get this sense of self- worth here. It's like you earn your keep.

"The whole concept of this place - that a musician like me without much money could come eat and not be looked down on - is just so cool. I was giddy when I heard about it, just blown away."

Even if you have the cash for lunch, you still might be borne aloft by the absence of set menu prices at SAME (So All May Eat). The humble cafe is more the heart-child than brainchild of Brad and Libby Birky, a pair of transplanted Illinoisans who are married to each other and the concept that there is beauty and grace in feeding people.

Their faith in feeding is demonstrated by giving clients the option of paying what they can - or want to - for a meal. Sure, they "suggest" a spread of $5-$15 for a full meal and $3-$6 for, say, soup, but that's all it is - a suggestion.

"I know in today's society that's how things work - people don't go outside the standard model of set prices; they stand on the reality side of things," said Brad, standing behind a counter that holds a small garden of mismatched glasses and cups. Then, with a short laugh, he adds, "Sure, it freaks people out when they come in for the first time. They get some strange looks on their faces."

Pay if you can

But they soon get with the program. And even if they don't, even if some people try to weasel a meal, Brad Birky says, "Who cares?" It's not like he and his wife figure to get rich - they've applied for nonprofit status for SAME. Meaning it's a good thing Brad moonlights as a computer consultant while Libby generates income as a teacher at a private school.

"We're not a soup kitchen; that's important to understand. We don't just hand out food," Brad said. With even more fervor, he added, "Everybody should be able to have a good, healthy meal, whether they can afford it or not."

The "healthy" part is particularly important to the Birkys. Having volunteered in shelters and soup kitchens for eight years, they've seen, as Brad says, "the need of the working poor and homeless to have an outlet for fresh fruit and vegetables in their diet. A lot of the people who have come in here have gone months without seeing something that didn't come out of a can."

But if the emphasis is as much on healthful, organic fare as possible, "healthy" doesn't necessarily mean bland. For instance, the hand-stretched pizza dough is made of two types of whole-wheat flour, but it is sublimely chewy. And concocting a sauce for the chicken-and-chives pizza that blends cream cheese, sour cream, scallions and garlic is a clear indication that, Brad said, "We like to not be standard."

Apparently, Brad, who has two years of culinary and restaurant management classes at Metropolitan State College under his toque, isn't speaking with a forked ladle.

"Excellent - simple and fresh," pronounces Rachel Byrne, 35, a physician's assistant and SAME first-timer who is dining with her friend Samantha Horoschak.

"Spectacular as usual," echoes Hazel Heckers, 49, a psychotherapist at another table who is showing graduate student friend Kim Weisser the SAME ropes.

"I love that all people are treated well and treated with respect and dignity," Heckers said. "And the second reason I come is the food is great."

Two tenets that Patty Walker likely would concur with.

Walker, 48, takes the bus from Superior to Denver three days a week to visit a methadone clinic that has helped keep her off heroin for years. Since the cafe's October opening, she's guaranteed a good meal each of those days, as well as something more.

"I like it here; it's really comfortable," Walker said. "You don't have to worry about someone breathing down your neck about paying. "

Two "really big hearts"

Those times when Walker can't manage a couple of bucks from her disability stipend or the greeting cards she designs, she finishes eating and resolutely marches back to clean the bathroom.

"I don't mind that at all; sometimes, I mop or sweep the floors, too," Walker said. "It's like in the old-fashioned days when, if you couldn't afford the meal, you'd wind up washing dishes."

She pauses over her plate of roasted vegetables.

"The other thing about this place I like? Brad and Libby both have, like, really big hearts."

Especially when compared with the size of their wallets.

After making sure they'd paid off their car ("So we'd have a place to live, just in case," he laughed), the couple scraped together $30,000 and opened SAME with a quiet belief.

Asked if he thought SAME could really make a go of it, Brad replied, "Absolutely."

Success may seem like a long shot because of the cafe's modest size - seven tables, four of which seat two people, a streamlined menu (two pizzas, two salads that change every day plus sugar cookies that are starting to create an urban legend among patrons), mostly lunchtime-only hours and a heretical pricing structure.

"To us," he said, "success is serving a healthy meal to people who need one but might not be able to afford it."

Although the Birkys were raised Christian, there is not a whiff of organized religion to be found. Unless that is, you count as religion the sayings posted on the walls like the one from Gandhi: "Be the change that you want to see in the world."

Another lunchtime of changing the world in an imperceptible but strangely powerful way is coming to a close at Brad and Libby Birky's place. The psychotherapist has gone back to healing. The former heroin addict has gone back to cleaning bathrooms. Both have left the table well fed. Both have left the table with a feeling of fulfillment and dignity.

Sure, you can pay whatever you want for the food at the SAME Cafe, but there's no charge at all for the sense of grace.

Dining details

• Where: SAME Cafe, 2023 E. Colfax Ave., between Race and Vine streets

• Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday

• Menu: Changes each day but always includes two types of pizza, soup, salad and a homemade dessert

• Payment: Cash and checks only; no credit cards

• Information: 720-530-6853 or soallmayeat.org

meadowj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2606

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