Customer Walks Into Restaurant But Can’t Afford It, Then Finds A Note In The Bill

On the last Sunday of every month, Washington D.C.’s Himalayan Heritage restaurant converts into a donation-based restaurant, known as Karma Kitchen. They order vegetarian Indian food from a one-page menu that has no prices and request as many servings as they like. At the end of their meal, they are presented with a check that reads $0.00 with a small footnote: "In the spirit of generosity, someone who came before you made a gift of this meal. We hope you will continue the circle of giving in your own way! To pay-it-forward for a future guest, you may leave an anonymous contribution in this envelope. Thank you!”

This is reflective of what Karma Kitchen calls, “A volunteer-driven experiment in generosity” as the restaurant strives to build connectivity within local communities.

Krishna Desar, Karma Kitchen’s D.C. coordinator, said,"Our intention is to generate kindness, nobody who walks inside this door will be a stranger when they leave.”

Karma Kitchen was first begun in March 2007 in Berkeley, California, by Indian-conceived Nipun Mehta. The restaurant’s concept promotes the idea that goods and services are given voluntarily, without any strings attached, promoting an environment of integration and mutual compassion.

Karma Kitchen operations also happen in 24 other locations — including London, Tokyo, and Singapore — though not on a consistent basis.

Desar, who moved to the U.S. from Nepal about 19 years ago, said,"It’s not a charity restaurant, the chain of giving has to be continuous. If that stops, Karma Kitchen cannot function.”

Lunch is served in the vicinity of 12 and 3 p.m., after which volunteers get together in an end circle and discuss their experience and the lessons they discovered that day. Karma Kitchen emphasizes the significance of visitors understanding their pay-it-forward mentality, which is exclusively reliant on consistent contributions. Money collected is promptly invested back into the restaurant, financing ingredients for future meals and compensating chefs for their services. The food menu is updated to provide guests with different options each month.

Desar said, adding that everyone is looking for what they don’t have,"People here feel very isolated, this is a space where people can stop and think about small things that can make us happy."

Karma Kitchen is unlike any other restaurant,with volunteers serving visitors as well as sitting and talking with them. At Karma Kitchen, volunteers take into consideration the “happiness factor” of the restaurant and their customers, constantly thinking of new ways to make the environment more positive and enjoyable. Despite the struggles, several volunteers said it felt heartwarming to see new friendships develop in the space and how everybody contributed to make things less demanding for the rest.