A successful effort once again demonstrating how social enterprise can work when done right, and how intrinsically generous the American people are, as this story from the St Louis Post-Dispatch reveals.
An excerpt.
“In case you missed the recent media blitz, this week marked the one-year anniversary of Panera Bread Co.'s experimental pay-what-you-want nonprofit cafe in Clayton.
“Yes, one year later, the cafe is still kicking.
“Based on its success, Panera's foundation has transferred two more cafes to the nonprofit model — one in Dearborn, Mich., and one in Portland, Ore. — under the name Panera Cares.
"Amazing," said Ron Shaich, executive chairman of the Sunset Hills-based company that operates locally as St. Louis Bread Co. "The cynics said we'd never make it."
“But others wondered whether Panera picked somewhat of a sure thing by putting this concept in Clayton, where there are plenty of well-heeled customers who can afford to pay their fair share. (The cafe gives patrons a 'suggested funding level" instead of a set price and leaves it up to the customer to decide how much they want to or can pay.)
“These folks said it would have been a far bolder statement to put the cafe in a low-income neighborhood. That's what a group of activists did a couple of years ago when they opened the Urban Studio Cafe in old north St. Louis, just down the street from Crown Candy. That cafe had set prices, but the proceeds were used to provide jobs in the cafe to local residents.
“But it never turned a profit and was forced to close earlier this year. A couple have opened a for-profit business in that space called La Mancha Coffeehouse.
“Urban Studio Cafe's demise does not necessarily mean that such a model can't work in poorer neighborhoods.
“But Shaich says those who would want him to do that perhaps misunderstand his original intention. It wasn't to cure poverty — but to start by helping those who are struggling to get by.
"This is about middle-class folks who are unemployed and who need a hand up," he said. "It's about us."
About
- David H. Lukenbill
- I am a California native, married, we have one daughter and live close to the American River with two cats and all the wild critters we can feed. I am a management consultant to nonprofit organizations and have an Associates of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Sacramento City College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Public Administration degree, also from the University of San Francisco.