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Visitors arrive at the Madison Children's Museum in June 2021 after its long closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Little John’s Lunchbox, a self-serve cafe in the Madison Children’s Museum, is a way for restaurateur Dave Heide to introduce his pay-what-you-can restaurant concept to the city.

The food, made from grocery store surplus, is prepared in advance, grab-and-go style, with no prices listed. Customers can pay nothing, a little, or they can pay it forward.

The cafe, which has been operating for almost three weeks, is open to museum visitors during museum hours. It's having its grand opening at 11 a.m. Friday.

"Visitors are really thrilled with the concept, that's what we've heard," said Deb Gilpin, museum president and CEO.

Gilpin said the concept is in line with the values of many who visit the museum. "They're excited that we're doing something that sort of checks a lot of boxes. It addresses food insecurity, but also addresses food waste."

A Little John's delivery van parks outside the nonprofit's temporary space at the Verona Athletic Center.

Another benefit, Gilpin said, is that it teaches children about philanthropy and compassion. She said one visitor loved the idea so much he took a bag of chips and paid $100.

"It runs the gamut from the families that are all eating and paying $6, to this kind of a payment," Gilpin said. "So, we don't know how that will play out, but we're excited about it and we think it will work well."

When the museum moved to 100 N. Hamilton St., off Capitol Square, in August 2010, Bean Sprouts Cafe, then a health-conscious, child-focused restaurant in Middleton, opened on its ground floor.

In 2011, Bean Sprouts was replaced by a fourth location of Roman Candle pizzeria, which has one location left, in Middleton.

The museum cafe had been vacant since March 2020, when the museum closed due to the pandemic. The museum reopened to visitors gradually with reduced hours starting in June 2021 after being closed for more than a year.

Heide, founder of the nonprofit Little John's, approached the museum after noticing the unoccupied cafe space.

Little John’s Lunchbox is supported by corporate, foundation and public funding and Heide said the museum doesn't charge him for using the space.

Heide doesn't staff the museum cafe. He said Little John's employees bring food to the museum every day it's open, Tuesday through Sunday, and then pick up what's left over and distribute it to people in the community who might be in need.

"Whether that's someone experiencing homelessness or whatnot, we work with different organizations to help out with those pre-made meals, too," Heide said.

Little John’s produces 17,000 meals a week out of a temporary space in Verona, using food excess donated by grocery stores and farms, to feed those who may not have enough to eat.

Heide said Little John's brings breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack to three hotels that provide shelter for people without housing. Food is also delivered to senior centers, child care centers, schools, shelters, and organizations such as Wisconsin Youth Company, Feeding The Youth, and Urban Triage.

In 2020, after five years of planning, including three years searching for a location, Heide signed a lease for Madison's first pay-what-you-can restaurant and commercial kitchen, in the 25,000-square-foot former A1 Furniture & Mattress, 5302 Verona Road, in Fitchburg.

He's raised $3.5 million for the project so far and said he still needs to raise $10 million.

"Although 17,000 meals a week is great right now, our new space will be able to do over 200,000 meals a week," Heide said. "So, once we get that space built, that's when we can start doing more to help."

Heide, who is turning his former Liliana's in Fitchburg into two new restaurants, said food insecurity often hits families with children hardest.

He puts himself in the shoes of those who are struggling. "When you think about it, you're doing okay. You're two people making minimum wage, let's say. Then all of a sudden you have a kid and now, that same income doesn't cover additional people."

Customers at the museum can choose from six entrées stored in a self-serve cooler and warm what needs heating in a microwave. Choices include macaroni and cheese, veggies and dip, and a sandwich wrap. Juices and homemade desserts are also available. There's no soda, Heide said.

Payment is made on a tablet, where customers choose the amount they want to pay using a debit or credit card. There's also a box to pay with cash.

Heide, who has three children, said he's happy to partner with a museum that makes an effort to include families with limited resources. He said Little John's Lunchbox isn't taking in a lot of profit. "We are using it as a way to guarantee food security for children."

Jonathan Zarov, a museum spokesman, stopped short of calling the partnership a fundraising effort for either partner.  "Only in that we're mission-driven nonprofits," he said. "The work we do to serve the community is supported through donors who share our passions and values."

Little John's Kitchens produces and sells food items to the museum at rates below typical retail cost, he said. 

The museum runs the cafe, paying for costs like construction, equipment, in-museum staffing, cleaning and composting, he said, adding that the museum keeps all of what visitors pay.

Zarov said they don't have financial reports yet, but based on expectations and a quick assessment of what's come in, the revenue from the cafe isn't likely to break even for either party. 

In a typical year, pre-COVID, Zarov said, the museum welcomes about 200,000 visitors. People using one of the museum's Access for Everyone programs for free or low-cost admission runs between a quarter to a third of all visits.

Those who qualify can get an annual family membership for as little as $15. A regular membership for a family of four is $135. Reduced daily admission prices are available, too.

The museum also holds special free nights almost every month. They've moved from a model of "Let's have a free night each month" to "Let's partner on some existing community-wide event and offer free admission for it," Zarov said. They're not all on Saturdays, though many are.

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FC Bayern Munich's Serge Gnabry, left, and Manchester City's Joshua Wilson-Esbrand go after the ball during a friendly at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., Saturday, July 23, 2022. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL

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Kayakers float down Badfish Creek near Leedle Mill Road in Stoughton, Wis., Wednesday, July 20, 2022. Clark Conway, not pictured, the owner of Drift Away Paddle Company, helped launch the kayakers at Badfish Creek State Wildlife Area where they started their three-hour trip. This is Conway's seventh season offering rentals and shuttle services for trips down the lower Yahara River and Badfish Creek. "Business really got crazy after the pandemic," Conway said. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL

Two-time World Youth chess champion Awonder Liang, 19, in Madison, Wis. Saturday, July 2, 2022. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

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Visitors to the 2022 Festival Foods Lights the Isthmus event at watch a fireworks display to cap the event at Breese Stevens Field n Madison, Wis. Saturday, July 2, 2022. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

High school and middle school students enrolled in a rowing class offered through the Mendota Rowing Club carry a four person craft toward Lake Mendota during a first day of the week-long training program in Madison, Wis. Monday, July 11, 2022. The classes, which continue through the summer, offer participants the opportunity to learn the basics of rowing, teamwork and physical fitness via dry land exercises and on-the-water training. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

Enjoying sunny skies and warm temperatures, a family of cousins from three different states share a group paddle board outing on the waters of Monona Bay near Brittingham Park in Madison, Wis. Monday, July 18, 2022. Pictured from left are Caroline Klessig of Madison, Gabe Zinser of Littleton, Colo., Ryan Cray of Madison, Grace Zinser of Littleton, Colo., Virginia Pendleton of St. Paul, Minn. and Scott Labot of St. Paul, Minn. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

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Members of IBEW Local 159, including John Zwettler, foreground, and Mikek Stassi, behind, work to inspect, repair and prepare light displays for this year’s Holiday Fantasy in Lights event at the union headquarters in McFarland, Wis. Thursday, July 28, 2022. From April to November each year, a group of mostly-retired union members volunteer their time once or twice a week to check lights, weld broken components and create new features for the popular drive-through seasonal display at Olin Park. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

Lena Nyhus, 10, prepares to show her shorthorn beef steer as the 2022 Dane County Fair opens at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis. Thursday, July 21, 2022. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

Madisyn Tritz-Reefe of the Stoughton Trailblazers 4H club tends her poultry entries during the opening day of the 2022 Dane County Fair in Madison, Wis. Thursday, July 21, 2022. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

Janiyah Denton, 9, dances during the Think Like A DJ: Varsity Program at the Theresa Terrace Neighborhood Center in Madison, Wis., Wednesday, July 27, 2022. Denton won a t-shirt in the dance competition portion of the event. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL

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Wisconsin State Journal feature writer Samara Kalk Derby writes about the arts and brings you the latest news on the Madison area's eclectic restaurant scene. She can be reached at skalk@madison.com or 608-252-6439.

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Visitors arrive at the Madison Children's Museum in June 2021 after its long closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A Little John's delivery van parks outside the nonprofit's temporary space at the Verona Athletic Center.

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