The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen in New Jersey hopes to provide those living on a prayer with a cheap alternative to fast food.
What a great idea! Make the restaurant good enough to attract paying customers and healthy enough to provide an affordable alternative to the American disaster of fast food monopolies.
The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen opened on Wednesday in Red Bank, New Jersey, near the singer's hometown of Sayreville. After two years of serving meals in various locations, the "community kitchen" has set up a permanent location in a 1,100 sq ft former garage. While customers are welcome to pay for their meals, those who are, er, living on a prayer may instead work as volunteers. "Picture the coolest brasserie in your hometown, that's what this is," Bon Jovi told New York magazine. "It's the hottest-looking restaurant in this town."
Indeed, this is hardly a soup kitchen. The bistro's opening menu includes rainbow beet salad, pork chops with fig and apple chutney, and homemade carrot cake with lemon cream cheese frosting. Everything is "organic, healthy, good-for-you food", Bon Jovi said,
This is an idea whose time has come. If you want you can even volunteer to work to 'pay' for your food.
"At a time when one in five households are living at or below the poverty level, and at a time when one out of six Americans is food insecure, this is a restaurant whose time has come," Bon Jovi said. "This is a place based on and built on community – by and for the community."
We need this kind of creative thinking now Next time I'm in New Jersey I'll try it out. In fact, I'm half way there.