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New "pay-what-you-can-cafe" opens in Milwaukee's Sherman Park neighborhood

Posted at 1:31 PM, Dec 13, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-13 22:10:38-05
A new cafe just opened up in Sherman Park where customers can pay what they want for their meal.
 
Tricklebee Cafe is a nonprofit community cafe with an emphasizes on fresh vegetarian meals.
 
"We anticipate about 80 percent of our customers will pay our suggested price range that we have which is between $5 to $7,  but we don't require that. If they can't pay the full price, they can still eat here," said Christie Melby-Gibbons, the cafe owner. "They can also volunteer here for their meal."
The new non-profit cafe on 44th Street and North Avenue is the first pay-what-you-can-cafe to open in Milwaukee.
 
The idea is that customers who pay more will be able to offset the price of customers who cannot afford to pay for their meal.
 
So what's on the menu? It changes every day.
 
"It's based on the food that comes in from the farms. If we have a big box of potatoes and spinach, we'll say chefs figure it out," said Melby-Gibbons. "They get creative and design the menu based on the food we have. We found we're thriving. People are hungry, not just for good food but a safe place to gather with neighbors and just be warm."
 
The cafe has been open for a couple of weeks, but the official grand opening is Wednesday.