Black-owned Richmond restaurants offer ‘Pay what you can’ ahead of snowstorm

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- As Richmond braces for Wednesday's snowstorm, several local restaurants are stepping up to support the community by offering "Pay What You Can Day."

"We’ve had a lot of really busy 'Pay-what-you-can' days, but today has been a very busy one as well,” said Samuel Veney, owner of Philly Vegan on Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Veney said he started the deal during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"You choose the item off the 'Pay what you can menu,' and then you pay whatever you can," Veney said. "If you cannot pay, it's free."

Philly Vegan does 'Pay what you can' routinely, but this week was the first time the restaurant collaborated with others.

“It’s something I have done all my life -- I always give food away," said Claudius Charles, owner of Charles Kitchen. "We have done feed the homeless and stuff like that. So when that was presented, it was a no-brainer."

After the success of the event, paired with school closures due to the weather, Charles is extending the ‘Pay what you can day’ offer for another day.

“Tomorrow [Wednesday, Feb. 19,] there will be a lot of kids home, and I think they will need something to eat,” he said.

Frances Odoi, owner of Coco Gin Juice, saw the ‘Pay what you can’ sign at Charles Kitchen and decided to join the initiative by offering her own products to the cause.

“How else can I participate in actually providing something for the community? So I came in and they were all for it,” Odoi said.