A Place at the Table

What A Place at the Table does

A Place at the Table is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 47-2959935) that operates Raleigh, North Carolina's first pay-what-you-can cafe, founded by Maggie Kane in 2015 and opened to the public in January 2018 from a single downtown location at 300 W. Hargett St. Suite 50. The cafe serves breakfast and lunch all day (Tuesday–Sunday, 8am–2pm) using a four-option pricing model: pay the suggested price, donate a minimum of $3, volunteer for one hour in exchange for a meal (up to three times per week), or pay it forward via a wooden PLACE Card system sold at $10–$15. The model is designed to provide dignity and choice while sustaining operations: roughly 80% of patrons pay the suggested price.

The organization operates a portfolio of related food and community products built on standard third-party SaaS infrastructure — Square for online ordering, Eventbrite for event registration, Qgiv for donations and ticketing, and Google Calendar for scheduling. Core products include the dine-in cafe, online ordering for pickup, a corporate catering service, and The Travelin' Table food truck for regional events. Supporting revenue and engagement products include the Table Neighbors monthly membership program ($15/month for one meal, $60/month for a family meal), PLACE Card sales, an online merchandise store operated via BaySix, seasonal Thanksgiving dessert pre-orders, and a monthly Coffee & Conversations civic discussion series co-hosted with the City of Raleigh.

Revenue is generated from a diversified mix: cafe food sales (transaction-based), monthly recurring Table Neighbors donations, one-time individual and corporate donations, PLACE Card sales, catering, and merchandise. The operation is supported by a small staff of 15+ paid employees supplemented by 80+ daily volunteers and more than 2,000 individual volunteers annually. A 15-member board provides governance, including the Wake County Manager, the CEO of the North Carolina Community Foundation, the Chief Strategy Officer of the YMCA of the Triangle, and partners/directors from Smith Anderson, Duke Raleigh Hospital, and Wake Tech. The organization is not investor-backed and relies on philanthropic capital, grants (including a $100,000 Kelly Clarkson Show grant in December 2023), and operating revenue to fund its mission of addressing food insecurity in Raleigh, where 1 in 7 residents are food insecure and 1 in 5 children go hungry.

Name

A Place at the Table

Legal name

A Place at the Table

Website

https://tableraleigh.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating Raleigh's first pay-what-you-can cafe and food truck, serving breakfast and lunch with flexible payment options to food-insecure individuals and community members. Founded in 2015, it sustains operations through cafe sales, donations, and volunteer support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Community Cafe

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

All-Day Dining Restaurants (THAFACAJ)

Keywords

• Pay-what-you-can cafe
• Nonprofit restaurant
• Community cafe
• Food insecurity relief
• Volunteer-powered dining

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Cafe Food Sales: Revenue from customers paying suggested prices for meals at the cafe. At least 80% of patrons pay the suggested price, creating sustainable revenue.
2. Monthly Donations (Table Neighbors): Recurring monthly contributions from sustaining members. Provides predictable income for operations and planning.
3. PLACE Card Sales: Sale of PLACE Cards ($10-$15) that can be used to pay-it-forward or donated to community members
4. Catering Services: Corporate catering with menu priced to help cover gap between what guests pay and true cost of meals
5. One-time Donations: Direct donations from individuals and corporations supporting the mission
6. Merchandise Sales: Online store selling t-shirts, beanies, coffee mugs, and other items through partnership with BaySix

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

A Place at the Table operates a nonprofit pay-what-you-can cafe in downtown Raleigh, NC, serving breakfast and lunch all day to anyone regardless of means. Customers choose from four payment options: pay the suggested price, donate a minimum of $3, volunteer one hour for their meal, or pay it forward via PLACE Cards. The organization extends its mission through The Travelin' Table food truck, corporate catering, monthly sustaining memberships (Table Neighbors), one-time donations, and branded merchandise.

Product overview

A Place at the Table operates as a single-location nonprofit pay-what-you-can cafe in Raleigh, NC, offering a portfolio of related food service products. The core offering is the dine-in cafe restaurant serving breakfast and lunch all day, augmented by online ordering via Square, a catering service, and The Travelin' Table food truck. Supporting products include PLACE Cards for meal donations, the Table Neighbors monthly membership program for recurring donations, an online merchandise store, seasonal Thanksgiving dessert pre-orders, and the Coffee & Conversations community discussion series. The cafe operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with multiple payment models including full price, minimum donation, volunteering, and pay-it-forward options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Travelin' Table: The organization's food truck that extends the pay-what-you-can mission beyond the cafe location, bringing food and community outreach to other areas of the Raleigh community.

Products and services

• Cafe Restaurant (Dine-In) Raleigh's first pay-what-you-can nonprofit cafe serving breakfast and lunch all day, Tues-Sun 8am-2pm at 300 W. Hargett St. Suite 50. Customers choose to pay suggested price, donate a minimum, volunteer for their meal, or pay it forward via PLACE Cards.
• Online Ordering
• Catering Service Corporate and event catering service; fees cover the gap between guest payments and the true cost of meals. Inquiries via [email protected].
• The Travelin' Table Food Truck Mobile food truck that brings the pay-what-you-can model to events and locations throughout the Raleigh region.
• PLACE Cards Wooden token cards ($10-$15) replacing the original Table Tokens; can be purchased to donate, handed out in the community, or used personally for a meal at the cafe.
• Table Neighbors (Sustaining Membership) Monthly recurring donation program; $15/month provides 1 meal each month and $60/month provides 1 meal for a family each month. Members receive updates about events and cafe happenings.
• Merchandise Store Online store selling branded apparel and items (t-shirts, beanies, coffee mugs) in partnership with BaySix.
• Thanksgiving Dessert Pre-Orders Seasonal pre-order program offering Thanksgiving/holiday desserts: cookie boxes ($26), chocolate creme pie ($30), pumpkin pie ($30), and apple pie ($30).
• Coffee & Conversations Monthly community discussion series hosted with City of Raleigh Community Engagement Department, featuring expert panelists on topics including housing, sustainability, disability advocacy, and recovery.

Quantifiable outcome

• 255,000+ meals served to those in need since 2018
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• NC CourageminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2021Partnership as part of NWSL's nationwide community impact program, connecting professional soccer with local community service.
• Wake TechminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2021Partnership to address hospitality labor shortage through training and employment pipeline for students.
• Black & White Coffee RoasterscoreTechnology or IntegrationLocal coffee roaster supplying beans for the full-service coffee bar and espresso drinks. Partnership ensures quality coffee while supporting local business.
• One World Everybody EatscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational network of 60+ pay-what-you-can restaurants. A Place at the Table is part of this network, with F.A.R.M. Cafe in Boone, NC serving as mentor restaurant.
• City of Raleigh Community Engagement DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership for Coffee & Conversation community discussion series addressing housing, sustainability, disability, LGBTQ+ rights, and other local issues.
• BaySixminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership for online merchandise store selling t-shirts, beanies, mugs, and other branded items shipped to customers.
• Lulu PressminorOthersPartner covering printing costs for children's book about A Place at the Table.
• Hope CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternship partnership providing community service and work experience opportunities for individuals served by Hope Center.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• DC Central Kitchen: A nonprofit social enterprise in Washington, DC that operates a cafe, catering, and job training programs. Comparable as a mission-driven restaurant operation with multiple revenue streams including catering and food product sales supporting workforce development.
• Community Servings: A nonprofit in Boston that prepares and delivers medically tailored meals to people living with critical illnesses. Comparable as a food-based nonprofit addressing community nutrition needs with a volunteer-supported operating model.
• Miriam's Kitchen: A nonprofit in Washington, DC providing healthy meals and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. Comparable as a mission-driven meal provider that emphasizes dignity and quality of experience over traditional soup-kitchen models.
• Cafe Momentum: A nonprofit restaurant and training program in Dallas, TX serving formerly incarcerated youth. Comparable as a mission-driven full-service restaurant using food service as a social vehicle with similar media visibility and donor-supported economics.
• F.A.R.M. Cafe: A pay-what-you-can community cafe in Boone, NC, that serves as the mentor restaurant for A Place at the Table and operates the same One World Everybody Eats model. The two organizations share concept, customer base, and operational structure almost identically.
• One World Everybody Eats: A network of 60+ pay-what-you-can restaurants worldwide that A Place at the Table belongs to. The network standardizes the operational model and connects similar cafes, making it a direct peer ecosystem and franchise-adjacent platform.

Broad incumbents

• World Central Kitchen: A large nonprofit that provides meals in disaster-struck and underserved communities globally. Comparable as a high-visibility food-focused nonprofit addressing food insecurity but operating at much larger scale and broader scope.
• Panera Bread Foundation (formerly Panera Cares): Operated pay-what-you-can cafes (Panera Cares) as part of a large for-profit bakery-cafe chain. Comparable as a pay-what-you-can restaurant concept but at vastly larger scale and as part of a publicly-oriented business.
• Sodexo (community-impact programs): Global food services and facilities management company with extensive community impact and hunger-relief programming. A Place at the Table's board member Neal Seigler is a former Sodexo district manager, indicating sector linkage as a large incumbent in food service.

Regional players

• Second Helpings Atlanta: A regional nonprofit food rescue organization in Atlanta that distributes prepared and perishable food to community partners. Comparable as a food-insecurity-focused nonprofit using prepared meals as the delivery vehicle but operating in a different region than A Place at the Table.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tableraleigh
• Facebookfacebook.com/table.raleigh
• Instagraminstagram.com/tableraleigh
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/a-place-at-the-tableraleigh

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles23 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 A Place at the Table