Jon Bon Jovi’s new restaurant, “Soul Kitchen,” focuses on serving the community organic, nutritious food, whether or not they can pay. 

Jon Bon Jovi opens Soul Kitchen restaurant. (Creative Commons)

 Bon Jovi created the restaurant in Redbank, New Jersey as a way to serve anyone in the community who needs a meal. It's similar to a soup kitchen, but with white table cloths, waiters and waitresses, and particularly nutritious food.

Dishes are prepared with organic, and often local, ingredients. The three course meal includes a salad or soup starter, a meat or vegetarian entrée, and a freshly baked dessert, according to their website.

 While the menu doesn't specify prices, the suggested donation for a meal is $10. Diners can choose instead to work for an hour in exchange for a gift certificate good for one meal. Other diners may donate more than $10, helping to cover the meals of people who can’t afford to pay.

 Though the restaurant has only recently opened, it is already quite successful--reservations are highly recommended. 

 “How I judge our success is that there’s nothing on those plates when they come back,” Bon Jovi told the press.

The idea behind Soul Kitchen was inspired by a story on NBC's "Nightly News with Brian Williams," which covered SAME (So All May Eat) Café in Denver, Colorado. The café focuses on serving everyone with respect. 

Soul Kitchen started as a pilot program for a year and a half in the basement of a church. They searched for a space for two years before it came to fruition in a converted autobody shop. Businesses from around the community donated supplies to the soon-to-be restaurant.  

Diners are expected to work for their meal if they are unable to pay. Bon Jovi hopes this will help them to understand that they need to earn each meal.  

Soul Kitchen is considered a “community restaurant.” Volunteers serve people, and diners may sit with people who they don’t know.

“When you dine here, you help feed the hungry in your own community; neighbors, seniors, and families in need,” according to the restaurant's website.

Reach Anita here.