Photos courtesy of Simone Weber

Located in downtown Omaha, Table Grace Café is a local restaurant run by a team with a heart for community outreach.

Together with its nonprofit Table Grace Ministries,  the Table Grace team, led by Matt and Simone Weber, works to foster a healthier Omaha through its pay-what-you-can model, job training program and community fellowship, according to the Table Grace Ministries website.

"It is the mission of Table Grace to offer a hand up, give people the feeling of hope in their lives and help them find the opportunities to reach their realistic potential for personal sustainability and growth," says Simone Weber, founder and owner. "Table Grace offers a space where people of all walks of life, socio-economic backgrounds, cultures and faith traditions can gather at the table and give something to one another, whether that is time, talent or donations."

In accordance with its mission, Weber says the café menu has no set prices, and customers who cannot afford to make a monetary donation are invited to volunteer instead. The menu selection varies based on food donations, which are often provided by Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue and other community donors.

Weber says a typical Table Grace meal includes soup, salad and pizza based on the ingredients available on a given day. The meal’s value is roughly $10, with the donation per person averaging between $2 and $3. To cover the difference, the café relies on the generosity of donors, foundations, churches and corporations to sustain its pay-what-you-can model.

Like many Omaha restaurants, Table Grace strives to eliminate food waste in every way possible. Each meal is prepared and served with dignity, and Weber says the team works to build a healthy community by providing opportunities for personal and spiritual transformation through hospitality, music and fellowship.

As a Christian organization, Weber says the café offers support to patrons seeking a fresh start.

"Table Grace values hospitality, compassion, respect, transformation, creativity, dignity, community, wellness and empowerment," she says. "Table Grace currently lives its mission through the café, 10 day job experience program, music ministry in the café and throughout the community, Mobile Grace Food Truck, catering and ministry opportunities outside of the walls of a typical church building."

Weber says the café team created the 10-day job experience program to establish a routine for unemployed people who are out of the habit of work, re-orient them to employer expectations and provide the necessary job experience to fill job gaps, making it easier for people to secure employment. As a new offering in 2022, Table Grace now extends a stipend to graduates who complete the 10-day job experience program. Graduates can use the stipend toward needs such as transportation and housing.

"In its modest environment, the café became an opportunity for people who needed not just a second chance at a job," Weber says, "but a sixth or seventh chance."

For graduates, Weber says the job experience program has made a large impact, providing them with confidence and empowering them to use their newly-obtained skills. One recent graduate expressed particular gratitude for the Table Grace team after receiving the stipend.

"There are only a handful of things I've ever finished in my life," the graduate says. "One was my prison sentence and the other was Table Grace's job experience program, and I am very glad to have finished. I did learn something about myself. For a long time and during the pandemic, I was feeling worthless. I don’t feel worthless anymore knowing I have job skills to share.”

A nominee for Food Day's Restaurant of the Year award, Table Grace serves as a safe setting for people to assemble, volunteer and receive encouragement. Weber says the café's community outreach programs set it apart in its work to help people build skills and healthy habits.

"These actions and opportunities combine to create a wholly healthy and nourished person," she says, "not just with food, but with a personal sense of wholeness, independence, interdependence and well-being."

Table Grace Café is open for lunch Monday through Saturday at 1611 1/2 Farnam Street, offering dine in and take out. To learn more, visit their website.