In 2011, Jon Bon Jovi and his wife Dorothea opened a restaurant with no prices on the menu.

JBJ Soul Kitchen

When you finish your meal, the waiter will leave a note beside the plate. No prices. Only a suggested donation (usually in the 20$-30$ range). And a line saying that if you can’t pay, you can volunteer your time instead.

Further, guests who can & want to, can also pay it forward with a 20$ additional payment to pay for someone who can’t pay or is unable to physically volunteer.

Those who choose to volunteer are guided by a manager to various tasks like washing dishes, folding napkins, setting tables, cleaning or working in the kitchen or in the kitchen garden.

If you ask, the waiter will tell you that the ratio is 60:40 (volunteer:pay) and usually people volunteer 2 hours or so of their time for each meal, which more than pays for itself, given what the minimum wage in New Jersey is.

The other interesting thing is that those who can pay and those who can’t are all standing in the same lines (the restaurant does not take reservations, so it’s only walk-ins). There’s no separate lines (& hence no treating people like charity cases).

What started as one small restaurant has grown into multiple locations across New Jersey, including spaces serving college students.

Locations in New Jersey:
– Red Bank: 207 Monmouth St, Red Bank, NJ
– Toms River: Toms River, NJ
– Rutgers–Newark: Newark, NJ

Together, JBJ Soul Kitchen has served more than a quarter of a million meals.

Millions know Bon Jovi as a rock star who has built great music. But one of the most meaningful things he (and his wife Dorothea) ever built is a restaurant.

P.S.: I’ve been to the one in Red Bank. If you do visit NY or NJ, it’s worth a trip. There’s a strange calmness to the place. There’s a limited menu – only 2-4 options each in soups, salads, main course & dessert. And the food is good.

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