A highly-anticipated nonprofit restaurant will open its doors in the Near Southside on Tuesday.
Taste Community Restaurant, led by the nonprofit organization Taste Project, is located at 1200 South Main St. Its menu has no pricing, but instead, diners are encouraged to either pay what they can afford, pay what they would normally pay, or pay a little extra. The concept is meant to fight hunger and food insecurity in the community. According to Taste Project, 1 in 6 individuals are hungry in Tarrant County.
Taste Project co-founder Jeff Williams serves as chef, and the seasonal menu features dishes made with local ingredients. Current menu items include Butternut Squash Risotto, Cornbread Stuffed Quail, and Fried Rabbit.
The restaurant will be open for lunch only, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Tuesdays through Sundays. Customers can make a reservation and keep track of wait times via the Taste Project's website.
Several nonprofit restaurants can be found across the country, like Fair Trade Cafe in Phoenix, SAME Cafe in Denver and Downtown Credo in Orlando. According to Williams and his wife Julie, who co-founded the Taste Project, the restaurant will follow a financial model based on average pricing from nearby restaurants on West Magnolia Avenue. They told FW Inc. in September that they estimate 80 percent of customers will pay "market" for their meals, while food-insecure individuals may pay less.
