Bon Jovi Opens Restaurant with a Soul

Going into the restaurant business is common among celebrities but this one is different. Rock star Bon Jovi and wife Dorothea yesterday opened a charity restaurant in a former auto body shop on Red Bank, New Jersey.

The Soul Kitchen, for one, is a “pay-what-you-can” restaurant that offers gourmet-quality meals. It is open to the hungry who can’t pay. All they have to do in return is to volunteer on community projects.

For those who would want to eat in a rock star’s restaurant and can afford to pay, they are encouraged to leave whatever they can in envelopes on each table.

Bon Jovi stressed that The Soul Kitchen is not a soup kitchen.

“You can come here with the dignity of linens and silver, and you’re served a healthy, nutritious mean. This is not burgers and fries. There’s no prices on our menu, so if you want to come and you want to make a difference, leave a $20 in the envelope on the table. If you can’t afford to eat, you can bus tables, you can wait tables, you can work in the kitchen as a dishwasher or sous chef.”

The restaurant is located near the Count Basie Theater where Bon Jovi played many shows in the past.

Do you think this restaurant which provides charity can last? Will it not be abused?

Don’t you feel hungry now?