What Grace Cafe does

Grace Café, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 47-1064974) headquartered in Danville, Kentucky, that operates a pay-what-you-can community food service under the brand 'Grace on the Go.' Founded in 2014 by Rochelle Bayless as Kentucky's first community restaurant based on the One World Everybody Eats (OWEE) nonprofit restaurant model, the organization initially ran a brick-and-mortar location from July 2015 until it paused operations in June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that 1,524-day period, Grace Cafe served 86,282 meals and accumulated 18,087 volunteer hours.

In 2024 the organization reinvented itself as a mobile food trailer, raising $79,000 in seven months through community donations to purchase, outfit, and haul the trailer. Grace on the Go now serves a daily-changing menu of soups, salads, sandwiches, and specials — including gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options — at rotating locations across Danville-Boyle County, with no set prices. Customers may pay what they can afford, pay it forward, or volunteer for 30 minutes in exchange for a meal; children under 12 eat free. The organization supplements this mobile service with a weekly Snack Bag program for Danville High School students launched in 2021 and extended to the Beacon Youth Services Center.

Grace Cafe's revenue model combines donation streams (individual giving, monthly recurring gifts, donor-advised funds, IRA qualified charitable distributions, stock and appreciated-asset gifts, and legacy bequests) with voluntary pay-what-you-can contributions from meal recipients. It is led by Executive Director Jennifer Earle (with the organization since 2015), supported by a Chef/Kitchen Manager, Assistant Kitchen Manager, Director of Communication and Development, and a 9-member Board of Directors. Strategic partners include Presbyterian Church of Danville (snack bag kitchen space), Danville-Boyle County Parks and Recreation, Red Polo Farms (produce supply), Healthy Kids Clinic, Wilderness Trace Community Foundation, and the national OWEE network.

Name

Grace Cafe

Legal name

Grace Café, Inc.

Website

https://gracecafeky.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Grace Café is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Danville, Kentucky that operates 'Grace on the Go,' a mobile food trailer serving healthy meals on a pay-what-you-can basis to food-insecure residents of Danville-Boyle County, supplemented by a weekly snack bag program for Danville High School students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Food Services

NAICS

Mobile Food Services (722330)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Mobile / On-Site Catering (Food Trucks for Events, Pop-Ups) (THAFAIAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Pop-Up Food Vendors (Temporary Stands/Markets) (THAFAHAE)

Keywords

• Community food services
• Pay-what-you-can dining
• Mobile food trailer
• Nonprofit food security
• Volunteer meal programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Danville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals, organizations, and monthly giving programs. Accepts stocks, appreciated assets, legacy bequests, IRA charitable distributions, and Donor-Advised Fund grants.
2. Pay-What-You-Can Payments: Customers pay what they can afford for meals, with options to pay suggested price, pay it forward for neighbors, or volunteer in exchange for food. Kids under 12 eat free.
3. Community Fundraising: Special fundraising events and campaigns. Raised $79,000 in seven months to purchase and outfit the food trailer.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Grace Cafe operates Grace on the Go, a mobile food trailer that serves a daily-changing menu of soups, salads, sandwiches, and specials (including gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options) on a pay-what-you-can basis at rotating locations throughout Danville-Boyle County, Kentucky. It also runs a weekly Snack Bag Program providing free sandwich, chips, and two sides to food-insecure Danville High School students. The organization is supported by community donations, pay-what-you-can guest contributions, and a volunteer network.

Product overview

Grace Cafe is a nonprofit operating as a single unified mobile food service. The primary offering is 'Grace on the Go', a mobile food trailer that provides meals on a pay-what-you-can basis. The organization also operates a Snack Bag Program for Danville High School students. The model is built on honesty, generosity, and community reciprocity — customers can pay what they can afford, pay it forward for others, or volunteer in exchange for meals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grace on the Go (Mobile Food Trailer) A mobile food trailer operated by Grace Café, Inc. that provides access to healthy food on a pay-what-you-can basis throughout the Danville-Boyle County community. Offers a daily changing menu of soups, salads, sandwiches, and specials with gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options at rotating community locations.
• Snack Bag Program Weekly snack bag distribution program for Danville High School students facing food insecurity. Bags contain a sandwich, chips, and two sides, packed by volunteers with support from The Presbyterian Church of Danville. Also serves Beacon Youth Services Center students with snacks.

Quantifiable outcome

• 86,282 meals served in 1,524 days of operations
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• One World Everybody Eats (OWEE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014National 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing food security and building community through the pay-what-you-can restaurant model. Grace Cafe was established using OWEE's nonprofit restaurant business model. Executive Director Jennifer Earle attended OWEE's national conference in Milwaukee.
• Presbyterian Church of DanvillecoreOthersProvides kitchen space for weekly snack bag packing operations for Danville High School students. Critical partner enabling the snack bag program.
• Trinity Episcopal ChurchminorOthersCommunity partner supporting Grace Cafe's mission and food security initiatives.
• Danville-Boyle County Parks and RecreationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for pickleball tournament fundraiser and community events. Allows Grace on the Go to serve at park locations.
• Sunwatch Homestead (Tyler Greene)minorOthersSeller of the food trailer for Grace on the Go. Worked with Grace Cafe on the sale and showed community support.
• Healthy Kids Clinic DanvilleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare partner providing health services to children in the community.
• Red Polo FarmsminorOthersLocal farm supplier providing fresh produce including romaine lettuce, cabbage, and kale for Grace on the Go menu.
• Stuart PowellminorOthersLocal business partner supporting Grace Cafe's community initiatives.
• McClure BaileyminorOthersLocal business partner supporting Grace Cafe's community initiatives.
• First Farmers BankminorOthersLocal financial institution partner supporting community initiatives.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Rethink Food: NYC-based nonprofit reducing food insecurity through restaurant partnerships that transform surplus food into meals. Overlaps with Grace Café's mission of increasing community food access but uses a different, restaurant-partnership delivery model.
• Martha's Table: Washington DC nonprofit addressing hunger, education, and family support. Operates community food programs with a similar focus on serving food-insecure individuals and families, comparable in scale to Grace Café's community-wide reach.

Broad incumbents

• World Central Kitchen: Global nonprofit providing food relief in disaster and crisis settings. Operates mobile kitchens analogous to Grace on the Go but at much larger scale and across multiple countries; relevant for comparison on mobile food distribution logistics.
• DC Central Kitchen: Established Washington DC nonprofit addressing hunger through job training, food distribution, and healthy school meals. A significantly larger incumbent operating community food programs at scale, comparable in mission to address food insecurity but far broader in scope than Grace Café.
• Feeding America: Largest U.S. hunger-relief nonprofit operating a nationwide network of food banks. Identifies nearly 800 food-insecure children in Boyle County, making it a direct contextual reference for the population Grace Café serves, though operating at vastly larger scale.

Others

• Food Recovery Network: National nonprofit focused on recovering surplus food and distributing to communities in need. Adjacent to Grace Café's mission of addressing food insecurity but operates through food recovery rather than direct meal service.
• One World Everybody Eats: The national 501(c)(3) framework that Grace Café operates under. OWEE provides the pay-what-you-can restaurant business model, training, and peer network rather than competing directly; effectively Grace Café's parent/affiliate ecosystem.

Direct peers

• SAME Café: Denver-based pay-what-you-can community restaurant founded in 2006. Operates with virtually identical model to Grace Cafe — no set menu prices, guests pay what they can, volunteer option in lieu of payment — making it the most direct comparable for mission, pricing structure, and donor-supported operations.
• Café Momentum: Dallas-based nonprofit restaurant that serves paid community dinners while training opportunity youth. While its pricing is fixed rather than PWYC, it shares Grace Cafe's nonprofit-restaurant model combining meals, workforce skills, and donor-supported operations.
• A Place at the Table: Raleigh, NC pay-what-you-can café operating under the One World Everybody Eats (OWEE) network — the same parent framework Grace Café uses. Same PWYC model, similar nonprofit structure, and direct affiliation through the OWEE network.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/gracecafeky
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gracecafeky

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Grace Cafe