At SAME Café off Colfax, you can pay for a meal three different ways:
Volunteer, pay what you can, or donate fruits and vegetables.
SAME — for So All May Eat — has been feeding the community for almost 19 years.
Brian Nelson is a volunteer and board member for SAME, but there was a time it was a resource for him.
“I found SAME cafe at the onset of the pandemic when I was actually in need of help feeding myself,” Nelson said. “And so they really were just an organization and a place that was here not only for nutrition but for community for me.”
The goal is to let anyone eat with dignity.
“It's something that I'm sure I wouldn't have understood quite as much had I not experienced that and needed a place where I needed to feel dignified,” Nelson said. “And so I'm really happy to contribute to the mission to this day for paying forward what I once received and, really, continue to receive. SAME cafe feeds me all the time.”
Despite its unique approach to payment, SAME still looks and visually operates like any other restaurant. People come in, order their fixings, pay how they choose and sit down at a table. There’s decor on the walls and flowers on the tables.
SAME serves lunch every weekday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a set menu of two pizzas, two salads and two soups.
But the cafe also has chef takeovers, where they get to put their twist on the menu for a day.
Chef Vasta Muhimpundu, a plant-based personal chef and caterer, wants to give back through clean food with her monthly residency at SAME.
“What you put in your body matters, and everybody should have access to clean food or knowledge on how to eat clean,” Muhimpundu said. “So this is just once a month, but I think it could be a gesture for the people to eat better.”
For Muhimpundu’s most recent takeover on Aug. 29, the menu featured polenta with mixed veggies or rice and mixed veggies, and black beans and an arugula, peach and strawberry salad as sides.
SAME cafe gets its produce from local farms and the Denver Botanical Gardens and coffee from local coffee shops.
“I always put the menu together intentionally. Of course we use what we have, so I have to look at what’s here and use that,” Muhimpundu said. “But it is always intentional. It is always different, never the same.”
“You come in, they treat you like a human being,” Muhimpundu said. “To me, that's what dignity means.”
Sean Stevenson was working the front counter during Muhimpundu’s August takeover.
“The first time I did it was when it first opened about 18 years ago. I live about three or four blocks away, so I tend to be a regular,” Stevenson said. “I've kind of gotten attached to this community, so I just tend to help out.”
He said the setup of the cafe is ideal in reflecting the community they’re serving.
“Everyone's in a different spot, right? Sometimes people, they could be doing well and then for a couple of weeks they could not be doing well and there's no question about only paying a dollar or two for food,” Stevenson said. “It's kind of like a safety net for a lot of people that are just kind of struggling with day to day.”
Next up: a no-cost grocery
The cafe's manager, Ember Smola, recently started a new initiative to combat food waste while still serving the community – a no-cost grocery market on Fridays.
“Guests are able to come in, pick up fresh produce and pantry items such as canned goods, different types of snacks,” Smola said. “Really, any produce that we won't be able to utilize throughout the week. Guests don't have to volunteer their time, they don't have to donate, they don't have to do anything besides just show up, shop around and get some goodies for the rest of the week.”
Smola, who has a corporate culinary background, has been managing SAME for the past five months.
“After many moons of doing the corporate-level restaurant gig, I decided to take a leap of faith and move over to nonprofit,” Smola said. “I really wanted to use my skillset for something bigger than myself and give back to the community.”
All of SAME’s operations are made possible through volunteers. For Muhimpundu’s takeover, nine people showed up the night before to chop vegetables, prep the salad and set up for the next day's lunch.
Then, on the day of, a different set of volunteers showed up to serve.
Volunteers heard about it through word of mouth or social media. Some were there because of Muhimpundu, and others were there because of the cafe’s mission.
“It's beautiful to see people,” Muhimpundu said. “Speaking, connecting, and that's really my hope. To have them here to help and then connect with each other.”
