At Café 458, your dinner can help feed those in need.

Meals from the Heart

It's a common scene on the weekends: people sitting down to a leisurely brunch, digging into fluffy platters of eggs, sipping coffee, and soaking in a bit of relaxation before the workweek grind begins. Often, however, these meals end awkwardly as friends play tug-of-war with the check. But if you're at Café 458 in Atlanta, GA, the best part of the meal is when everyone reaches for their wallets. Why? Because at this downtown eatery, owned and operated by the Samaritan House of Atlanta, Inc., all proceeds from meals go toward helping homeless men and women achieve self-sufficiency.

At Atlanta's Café 458, brunchers leave with both a full stomach and a heart of gold.

With dishes like Carolina pulled pork and parmesan grits available to the public on the weekends, it's not surprising that Café 458, located in the Martin Luther King Historical District, has become one of Atlanta's most popular brunch destinations. However, the crowds who keep this place packed on weekends (it's open to the public Saturday and Sunday, 9am-2pm) seem to have more of an appetite for helping others than for food: Because every dollar spent in the volunteer-run restaurant goes toward helping the homeless, patrons can leave with both a full stomach and a heart of gold.

Just what exactly is done with the proceeds from this brunch rush? Café 458 helps raise money to help homeless men and women who cannot work because of mental or physical disabilities or addictions. The restaurant, through the Samaritan House, provides voicemail, laundry, storage facilities, and caseworkers who can help homeless clients set goals and obtain medical attention. Says Lisa Andujar-Ray, director of marketing and development: "As a homeless person, you have given up the right to choice. You are forced to rely on what others give you, and at Samaritan House of Atlanta, we pride ourselves on allowing homeless men and women to feel like guests in our facility."

That includes serving free healthy meals, which just happen to be served on weekdays in the same dining room where Atlanta's weekend brunch bunch congregates. The meals are made possible largely because of the paying customers who come on the weekend. During the week, homeless men and women are greeted by a host, led to a table adorned with a vase of flowers, and invited to enjoy their choice of 2 entrées, 3 vegetables, a beverage, and dessert. Weekday meals are prepared by volunteers and the occasional culinary school student and are largely determined by what Café 458 receives in donations from the Atlanta Community Food Bank. On any given weekday, a diner might find a repast of beef stir-fry, baked chicken, or chicken pot pie with mashed potatoes and broccoli. It's a far cry from typical soup kitchen lines and fare . . . and no bill ever arrives.

But it's not simply the food that sets Café 458 apart from the pack - it's the way the program seeks to treat its homeless patrons as well as it treats its paying customers, if not better. "The meals are served on real plates, and our guests are treated with dignity and respect," says Andujar-Ray. "They are also allowed to bring a guest with them once per week. This provides the opportunity to re-connect with their families and/or friends and show them their Samaritan House of Atlanta family."

If only every stack of pancakes you ever ordered reaped such rewards.

Posted on October 16, 2006