Her Restaurant Breaks All the Rules, and Thrives

The event marked the beginning of Cerreta’s economic turnaround. Operating a coffee shop on a pay-what-you-want basis was so unusual that people started flocking to it. Encouraged, Cerreta decided to expand beyond sandwiches and started offering one dish cooked with fresh, local produce every day. At first, the news about the restaurant spread by word of mouth, and then in September 2003 the Associated Press wrote a news story that started, “Salt Lake City’s One World Café breaks two of the most fundamental rules of the restaurant business: It has no menu and no prices.” The article was picked up by newspapers across the country and gained her both local customers and interested tourists.

It took Cerreta two years to get back on her feet financially. Then, with her charitable goals of fighting hunger and educating people about waste uppermost in her mind, she sought nonprofit status, which the IRS granted in 2006. In effect, Cerreta gave the enterprise away. “It’s not mine anymore,” she says in a voice both triumphant and wistful. The nonprofit status also meant her eatery could not call itself a restaurant or café. It’s now a community kitchen, part of the One World Everybody Eats Foundation, with a board of directors that oversees operations. Cerreta is a paid employee whose job description includes doing outreach to nonprofit groups around the country, speaking about food waste and world hunger, and mentoring small business owners. The work suits her perfectly. Cerreta is enthusiastic and outgoing, but also thoughtful and patient.

As part of her mission, she spent a month in Denver mentoring the founders of the nonprofit SAME Café (So All May Eat), which opened its doors in 2006; and she helped create a sister community kitchen called One World Spokane, which launched in 2008. Cerreta also advised a no-waste, pay-what-you-want commercial eatery called Potager, which opened in January 2009 in Arlington, Texas. Like-minded groups in Durham, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina, are planning to open community kitchens this year. She also urges other commercial restaurant owners to reduce waste by allowing patrons to choose from small, medium and large portion sizes.