Pay as you feel restaurants allow customers to choose a meal, fill their bellies, and pay only what they can or what they believe the meal is worth.
There are no prices on the menus, no obligations to pay, and if you don’t have the money to spare there’s no hard feelings.
It’s a noble cause, but it’s difficult not to wonder how, in a world so dependent on cold hard cash, these restaurants stay open - and why the staff who run them keep coming back for more.
Arun Natarajan runs Perth pay as you feel restaurant Annalakshmi, a vegetarian restaurant that serves Indian food to diners for lunch and dinner every single day of the week.
“Annalakshmi is a place where nobody is deprived of food, and people come and eat and enjoy, and it's all offered with love,” he tells SBS.
“They pay whatever they can, and we never judge,” he says. “The only qualification you need to have in this place is to have a hunger in your stomach.”
Tim Mattherson is one of the managers at Lentil As Anything in Abbotsford, Melbourne - one of six vegetarian restaurants in what Mattherson refers to as the “lentil family.”
After moving from Brisbane to Melbourne two years ago, Mattherson fell into a role at Lentil As Anything, starting out in the kitchen - and he hasn’t left since.
“It's not just a restaurant, it's a place where people can feel comfortable to be themselves,” he tells SBS.
“It’s about trusting people, and food is the best way to bring a community together.”
Annalakshmi serves vegetarian Indian food to Perth diners seven days a week Source: Supplied
Community and diversity
Annalakshmi and Lentil As Anything are both not for profit organisations, founded by migrants who wanted to give back to the community - regardless of race, religion or cultural background.
“If you want to see the real multicultural Australia, you can see it here every night,” says Natarajan. “Everybody comes: people from different religions come, people come to break fast for Ramadan, the Jewish community, business people, people who don’t have much.”
Mattherson says that the score is similar at Lentil As Anything: he couldn’t put a finger on the restaurant’s customer base.
“There's people like me, there's business people coming in for meetings, people come in on dates, families, lots of travelers, people that might be homeless, people that just want some new friends or some support,” he says.
Mattherson says that working at Lentil As Anything has changed his perspective on business and the way he operates in everyday life.
“I really didn't enjoy my working life before this, and I had a lot of severe social anxiety,” he says.
“It really helped me with that: before, I couldn't talk with people very openly or socialise well, and now, I’m co-managing a restaurant.”
Money struggles and community contributions
Both Annalakshmi and Lentil As Anything are focused on the community they are building and feeding, with money always coming second. They are run solely by volunteers, and all donations made go straight back into the restaurants.
But, the reality of the modern world and a tight economy has hit both of them in the past few years.
For Annalakshmi, it was a government redevelopment nearby that nearly bought the restaurant to its knees.
Annalakshmi sits on the bank of the Swan River in Perth’s CBD, and from 2013 until the beginning of this year, the state government was renovating nearby Elizabeth Quay.
“The construction came all the way up to our kitchen and I was just praying and praying,” says Natarajan. “There was no help or apologies from the government, and I’m not a guy who goes and fights legal battles.”
The restaurant was losing money and customers fast, and Natarajan defaulted on rent a number of times before help came.
“Two Australian girls came and said: ‘What is happening? Where are the people?’” says Natarajan.
They started a Facebook campaign that day, and within a week, they had raised $100,000. Customers flocked to the restaurant in support, and the attention forced the state government to offer compensation.
Annalakshmi was close to closure before two customers pitched in with a social media fundraiser Source: Supplied
“I was in tears, my god,” says Natarajan. “No one wanted the place to close down, and I just want to keep doing what I believe in.”
Lentil As Anything have also faced their fair share of hardships, with donations ebbing and flowing throughout each year.
“A lot of the media seems to portray our money as the number one focus of our day to day lives, but it's not - if it was, we wouldn't be here,” says Mattherson.
“Everything we get goes back into paying our rent, buying food, and supporting our other restaurants.”
No end in sight
Both restaurants have plans to stay open as long as possible, with no view to close or wind back their service.
“Food is meant for sustenance of life, and nobody should be deprived of their food,” says Natarajan. “I have dedicated my whole life to this service, and this is what I will always do.”
Mattherson is gathering skills and passing them on to new volunteers, with no plans to move on from Lentil As Anything any time soon.
“I think Lentil is a place where you come and go, and you get what you need from it.”
