Fort Wayne’s newest downtown lunch spot, the Sparrow Café, is a welcoming, “pay-what- you-can-afford" concept eatery housed in the Trinity English Lutheran Church on West Washington Blvd.
An idea that was originally conceived as an answer to providing nutritious food in light of budget cuts being made to SNAP and other government food assistance programs, The Sparrow Café is meant to foster community and an appreciation for great food enjoyed with others.
Since its opening in September, this volunteer-driven enterprise is exceeding all dreams, says its grateful manager, Makayla Tedder.
Here WBOI’s Julia Meek discusses the purpose of this ambitious undertaking with Tedder, how and why the system works and their secrets for success, including prized-menu offerings by legendary Fort Wayne restaurateur, Lindi Miller.
The Sparrow Cafe at 450 W. Washington Blvd.
Monday through Friday
11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
You can find menu and volunteer information at The Sparrow Cafe website.
Below is a transcript of their conversation.
Julia Meek: Mykayla Tedder, welcome.
Makayla Tedder: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Julia Meek: Now you hit the ground running with the Sparrow Cafe only in September. In a word or two, how's it feeling for you and yours over there by now?
Makayla Tedder: It's really exciting and really encouraging right now.
Julia Meek; Plenty busy?
Makayla Tedder; Yes, we are very busy.
Julia Meek; That's a good way to be. It was actually a discussion about the reduction in SNAP benefits, getting nutritious food to individuals, that prompted this move over at Trinity English Lutheran Church.
You were part of the group that backed it. Now, how easy of a sell was it to get it all the way through and become a reality?
Makayla Tedder; It was extremely easy. As soon as we pitched the idea, it was really just a matter of getting all the legal stuff done, making sure we were our own nonprofit.
But everyone that we talked to was very excited about it and was ready to make it happen.
Julia Meek; And knew or at least had some inkling of what it would take to make it happen. You went into this with the knowledge?
Makayla Tedder; Kind of. To be honest, we knew what they were, then I did a bunch of research into how they operate, and we visited one in Kentucky that had been operating for 10-plus years and talked with them.
Julia Meek; Oh, excellent! Of course, that would be an enlightening experience personally. How valuable was it to you, the appointed manager of the Sparrow Cafe?
Makayla Tedder: Oh, it was really enlightening to go see the working pay-what-you-can cafe in Kentucky, because as soon as you walked into the door, you just saw everyone gathering together and eating a meal, and it just was working well, and the food was delicious.
It just, you felt like you were in an environment where community truly was just together, of all different types of people, and it was really really empowering.
Julia Meek: In a way, you walked in and saw your dream in motion.
Makayla Tedder: Yeah, kind of, yeah. [chuckles]
Julia Meek: Well, good, and then you took it and took off running with it. So, your sure-fire idea actually becomes solid gold with the help of the legendary Lindi Miller and her mouth-watering recipes, which are pretty legend in Fort Wayne. What's the range of tasty offerings as well as her enthusiasm over there at the place.
Makayla Tedder: Oh, we are so happy to have Lindi! On the menu we have a variety of sandwiches, soups, salads, sides, desserts, and we change our soups weekly. She is so excited to be downtown again.
She's been in the restaurant business for 40 years now, so to be back downtown is really exciting for her, and it's really exciting for everyone coming in because her food is very well known and very well loved.
Julia Meek; It is. She had her own...620?
Makayla Tedder; Deli 620, yes.
Julia Meek; Up in the bank building.
Makayla Tedder; Yeah, and she also had Lindi's on Main.
Julia Meek; And Lindi's on Main was quite something. And also, in full disclosure, she is the keeper of the old L.S. Ayres Tea Room recipes.
Makayla Tedder; Yes, the Chicken Velvet, the famous Chicken Velvet on Thursdays.
Julia Meek; You are making everybody's mouth water about now, whether they've had the pleasure of having that dish way back or not. [both chuckle] Very, very good. Sounds like you are a big fan of your own menu.
Makayla Tedder; Oh yeah, and I'm always...she's always telling me new things she wants to try. I'm like yes, I'm always: Yes, whatever you want to do, Lindi! [both laugh]
Courtesy/The Sparrow Cafe
Julia Meek; What a great team! And also, for her spark and spirit. Who else is there with you?
Makayla Tedder; We also have Becca. She is our cashier, and she also has a lot of experience in managing restaurants and is just really, really good at people and problem solving.
Julia Meek; Well, good then. A trio. You have a small but mighty team there working as your core. You have got an easy-to-find walk-in plus parking-friendly venue in the church, there. Was it easy to convert the space that you had to work with to an actual restaurant?
Makayla Tedder; Yes. So, the church had actually renovated the kitchen two years ago, always in the hopes for it to becoming some sort of restaurant area. So the kitchen had been completely redone, which was really helpful.
And then there is this room that's kind of in the back. If you go there, you'll see it right when you walk in. That was perfect for a cafe-sized room.
The windows are stunning, natural lighting, just a very cozy feeling. So, it was easy to renovate it into a restaurant.
Julia Meek: And who has who has free parking downtown? [ both laugh]
Makayla Tedder: Yea, and a big a big parking lot.
Julia Meek: Yes, and it's good to see it well-used at all times. That's kind of the point of any space where people gather and rejoice. There's something there to rejoice about.
Now, so far, you've proving it--you've got great backing. You've got great partners, great coworkers here, Makayla. Have there been any surprises along the way, just getting everything approved and the space ready, set, go?
Makayla Tedder: Honestly, not too many surprises. We've had a really good team of lawyers and connections just through the church. Even though it's its own separate nonprofit, the church has a lot of connections for people.
Julia Meek: And you advertise, I'm sure.
Makayla Tedder: Yeah, so to be able to set up its own nonprofit, that went pretty smoothly. The main thing that really took time is decorating the space, which is thrifting.
Courtesy/The Sparrow Cafe
I chose to thrift a lot, and putting nails in the walls was like a whole...how many nails we could put in the walls because it's an old building, and those were unexpected challenges of like, I can't put everything on the walls because they're like concrete. So it's just it's just little things like that, but um...
Julia Meek: Well that's relatively easy--you're blessed, to have it be that minor, but also to be able to give that detailing. It is a lovely, lovely space, fresh and sweet and sunshiny.
Have to say that for the colors and the feelings and the vibes there. That's to be sure. So basically, what kind of a floor space, table count does that give you even before the carryout?
Makayla Tedder: So the nice thing about the cafe is we have about, in the actual cafe area we have 10 tables, but those range from like two seaters all the way up to seven seaters.
And then we also have a community table that can seat 10 people. But when you walk in, it's also connected to this thing called Wagenhals Hall, that's what the church calls it.
But it's an overflow area almost. So once the cafe even fills, we can have people seated at the other tables, and we've had to do that multiple times.
That also is where a lot of times we have like our volunteers helping out with stuff, so we can seat quite a lot of people.
Julia Meek: And then okay, add your carryout capacity. I mean, just that could be the sky's the limit if your hands and fingers walk fast enough and you don't run out of supplies. But just how many lunches can you, could you do in a day?
Makayla Tedder: I mean, we're we're open from 11 to 2. I'm really bad at... I mean, we've done over 100, and I think we could easily do more than that if people came right at 11. [chuckles]
If people came right at 11, I mean, we could, we could probably do 200?
Julia Meek: That's amazing, and you're you would be pushing your own self. But what outpouring of love and good eats you would be sharing with the city! [both chuckle]
Makayla Tedder: Yeah! I mean we might run out of soup. I won't guarantee the soup, but definitely sandwiches and things like that we would be able to accommodate.
Julia Meek: How exciting!
Makayla Tedder: Yeah.
Courtesy/The Sparrow Cafe
Julia Meek: Now that space itself, like we say, it's so sunny, so inviting, truly welcoming. What has been the feedback so far?
Makayla Tedder: The feedback has been: this place is so comforting. This place feels very cozy. It is really encouraging and welcoming.
We've gotten a handwritten letter one time from someone saying how much they appreciated their experience. It just is a place that's welcome for everyone, and it's just a really positive experience every time.
That's what really has been kind of the feedback about it. And the food is delicious! [chuckles]
Julia Meek: It is, and of course that's important. Food, clothing, and shelter are the necessaries. It's nice to have tasty and comforting food. You happen to have a living legend working with you, and all of the work you do.
You're no stranger to the hospitality business. May I ask how young you were when you first started in such enterprises?
Makayla Tedder: For restaurant stuff? I mean, that was probably...I was a creative director right out of college, and then I think about six years after that, I worked in cafes for a bit and did other freelance and other things, communications. I can't even remember how long ago I even started doing that.
Julia Meek: Now you're not that old. [Julia chuckles]
Makayla Tedder: I know, but I think it was about four years ago.
Julia Meek: Okay, and solid. And it sounds like you hit the ground running back then and never stopped. Okay, just how does your personal pay ahead, pay what you can, work for your meal system work?
Makayla Tedder: So we have three options. One, you can come in and pay the suggested donation that's on our menu.
Julia Meek: Which is reflected at a very reasonable menu price.
Makayla Tedder: Yes. We try to keep it, so we're just covering. We're we're nonprofit, so we really just need to cover break even.
And then we have a pay a minimum donation of $5 for your meal. So if you can't pay full price, as long as you pay $5 for your meal.
And then we have our volunteer in exchange for your meal. So you work, come in, you volunteer for 30 minutes. That can be something as simple as stamping bags or helping fold towels.
We have a variety of different things, kind of dependent on the people that come in and want to help out. Bussing tables sometimes. Work for 30 minutes, and then you get a meal in exchange.
Julia Meek: Most generous and certainly a lot of dignity comes along with every volunteer labor, then and the food is there. Do you have people paying forward, just because they...because of your space?
Makayla Tedder: Oh yeah, yeah and that is, that's how we're operating.
Honestly, we've been able to be, our first two months we've been net positive because of our community showing up and paying it forward to say we want this and we want to help out our community and pay for those meals.
So it's been really encouraging. And we we really when we started this, we're hoping that people would hope to pay it forward and help their community, so...
Julia Meek: What a good word for really our whole community for it and from it. And thanks to you all for doing all of that. So, pay what you can is trending now. How would you say that Fort Wayne, in particular, as you know, you're up front and personal with them every single day, is embracing the idea?
Makayla Tedder: You know, I had no idea when we first started what the reaction would be. It could either go really great or really bad. You never know. We have had an incredibly positive reaction.
I have been incredibly encouraged by not only comments on social media, but the people, the amount of people that are coming. It's evident by our customer base. They're coming.
They're saying we want this here. We love this idea. Please, like, how can I help? Some people want to come in, like, I've had people dining and they see me cleaning menus and like, can I just like help you?
I don't even need to do it for my meal. I just want to help out. It just really is a really positive environment to be in. And most of the people that are serving you are volunteering. In fact, mostly everyone besides me.
And so it's just you're just constantly just around people that are excited for it to exist.
Julia Meek: That's exciting for you as it really does fuel everybody's fire. And like many savvy nonprofits, you are relying pretty heavily on volunteers. Is there always, is there ever enough to go around? What do you need help with?
Makayla Tedder: Yeah, we could always just use more backup volunteers. We have what we call crew volunteers, and they work the 10:45 to 2:10 shift.
They do get a meal exchange for that as a thank you. But they do things like, a host is always helpful and always needed, and it's a pretty simple job.
Servers are always helpful; you don't need a ton of experience to do that. Floaters, they kind of help clear things. We have dishwashers, and then we have kitchen helpers.
The kitchen helpers are the ones I'm a little more strict about because they're in the kitchen. We do prefer experience in that area.
Julia Meek: You've got very realistic requirements, and certainly the good spirit. It seems like you are the talk of downtown, by the way, Makayla. Being busy, reservations I read are now necessary. Where could you go next with this whole enterprise?
Makayla Tedder: We have talked a little bit about possibly being open one Saturday a month. I mean, briefly, we've talked about that. Catering or box lunches are definitely a thing. If people are interested, they can reach out on our contact on our website, thespariocafe.org. And I mean, we are still, we're just a little, we're only, we only been open for two months, [both chuckle] so we're still just trying to get our feet off the ground and work out all the kinks. But we're kind of hoping to also just be more involved with other community partners.
Courtesy/The Sparrow Cafe
Julia Meek: It sounds like you've got a good foothold on that already. If you have this planning going on during your opening phases and stages, so good luck on that as well.
Makayla Tedder: Thank you.
Julia Meek: Now, your own source, the Trinity English Lutheran Church, is quite community-centric. They're well known for that in the downtown church scene. How does this expand those connections they have even further?
Makayla Tedder: I just think it shows just more and more just how much they really are about caring about the community and just working to help the community.
And it creates a great opportunity for us to even come alongside more so with our partners that we can help out even with our volunteers. Sometimes we'll say, "Hey, this partner agency needs some help with something."
We have volunteers working in exchange for their meal. We can help you do that. So we're able to work with some community partners in that way.
But also just serving the community in and of itself has just been great for people to see that that's what they're doing.
Julia Meek: Amen of course, to that. You're also elevating everybody's spirits. Your workers, of course, your brain, you the trio that's kind of carrying it all, the whole community that you're allowing to participate in that. Do you feel the love? I mean, really, do you? Is it there in the air?
Makayla Tedder: It is. It is hugely in the air, and I feel like especially from our volunteers, the people that are donating their time so much to help make this work, they're donating so much of their time.
We have a lot of consistent volunteers, crew volunteers who are working that full shift, and it is it warms my heart more than anything, honestly, [Makayla chuckles} because I just I am so encouraged by them, and then the consistent walk-in volunteers that we've gotten to know.
Julia Meek: Good for you.
Makayla Tedder: And our customers. We've had returning customers. It's just really, really encouraging.
Courtesy/The Sparrow Cafe
Julia Meek: Are we covering several generations on all ends of all things here?
Makayla Tedder: Oh, yeah. All generations, all generations, and every one of them is so, so helpful and amazing, and great stories to tell.
Julia Meek: This is a great story to tell. Thank you for helping us do that. And your very name is taken from a universally popular Bible verse, and you were part of that naming committee.
Makayla Tedder: Yeah.
Julia Meek: What does that mean to you, collectively as well as personally--The Sparrow Cafe?
Makayla Tedder: The Sparrow Cafe really is just about, if the sparrow will not be taken care of, will you not also be taken care of as well and fed as well? And it really is just a matter of every--everyone matters.
I remember when we pitched the name and we told people. Someone said, you know, I have a bird feeder out there, and I always want like the really unique birds. But I have to remember that every bird, even sparrows, need to be fed.
And I was like, yes, like everyone needs to feel community, needs to eat. That's a literal, basic human need. [both chuckle] And sparrows represent community and unity and simplicity. And I really felt like that's really was the groundwork of what I was hoping for this place.
Courtesy/The Sparrow Cafe
Julia Meek: Amen again on that one. And okay, you work harder than average in a professional niche that we have to say is blessed. At the end of the day, what does this very act of hard work and humanity do for you and your coworkers that for-profit dining simply can't.
Makayla Tedder: I mean, we are experiencing every type of human coming into that space and hearing stories. Whether they are choosing to volunteer for their meal, whether they are choosing the five-dollar minimum donation.
We often get to talk with them and hear what, why they are in this situation. Or how important it is for them to be able to go out to eat, even if they can't fully afford it.
And then also the people that can afford it, how important is to them why this place can exist? You're hearing every spectrum, and you're creating a sense of...I don't even know.
Like the people that I've met that come in to volunteer specifically, because I work really close with them. I really just get to know them on such a personal human level that I would have never been able to experience in a normal stylized restaurant.
And you get to hear their stories, and you get to build trust, and you get to just learn so much more about the broad aspect of being a human.
I don't--it's just really beautiful--of every type of human out there, and different parts of what walks of life they are on, and seeing the beauty of it that I don't think you can have in a traditional restaurant style.
Julia Meek: Fort Wayne resident Makayla Tedder is manager of Sparrow Cafe here in Fort Wayne. Makayla, thanks for taking time to share this lovely story. Continued success, do carry the gift.
Makayla Tedder: Thank you.
