The Table Nears 10-Year Anniversary As Portland Community Cornerstone

For team members John and Tara, who have been with the Table from the beginning, serving amazing quality food at affordable prices is only a small part of the goal. With the ten-year anniversary coming up — surviving and thriving when many restaurants in Louisville have come and gone — when asked what they’ve learned over ten years, John first joked that “we’re hardheaded, so I don’t know if we’ve learned much,” but said in the end it all comes back to serving the community and helping others.

“We’ve learned how to have a safe space,” he said. “It’s how we see people, how people are treated, amidst chaos. Everybody deserves good food. Things like food costs, keeping a budget in mind, that’s important, but it means way less than the people. But you still have to stay open.”

Tara joined the team after it had been going about six months. She was a veteran of the restaurant business, but that’s not what The Table is. “Restaurants are a job. You do the job and go home,” she said. “But this is a home for some people. So many people who are lost…somebody’s gonna know their name here, gonna look at them like they’re a real person. And get great food and great service like anybody else.”

Both Tara and John were quick to note that a key motivation to paying it forward with The Table was how other people helped them when they were dealing with their own personal addiction issues.

“It’s the idea of being there for someone else,” John said, and Tara added: “When I was starting my life over, people fed me.”

The impressive food offerings at The Table are on a seasonal menu, switching out around every four months. John said they usual local sources whenever possible, but that food costs in general these days for restaurants is quite a struggle, showing how impressively efficient they have been in providing a high-quality value. (“$16 chicken sandwiches aren’t gonna help anybody on this block”, John said.) And while most of their creations are certainly “Instagram worthy” and foodie approved, appealing to a higher end cultural crowd is far from their minds. They’ve routinely turned down media requests and opted out of aggressive promotion, and rather simply rely on positive word of mouth to spread their own gospel. (Spoiler alert: the food at The Table is really, really good. Veggie friendly too).

And The Table is unique both in regard to its “pay what you can” philosophy as well as its revolving staff of volunteers. “It’s less about the job that gets done, and more about providing a space for them. It could be somebody coming out of a tent. It’s more important to give them a purpose.”

Given such an unpredictable population, Tara said you can definitely get attached, creating a stronger sense of family.

“Families have chaos, don’t always get along, but they’re always there,” she said. “Certain people are here all the time, every day for like a year. Then they’re gone…there’s that feeling of loss, and change. We don’t always know their last names.”

John added that “We don’t know what happens when they don’t come back. But we have had some that come back a few years later, looking totally different. They have jobs and kids; they’re driving a car up to the restaurant…wow. We want to help them get through their low period. Really just staying alive. And again, somebody helped us.”

“People come through here at exactly the time they’re supposed to,” Tara said. “This space is protected. It’s not a show. It’s life or death…it’s special.”

(True to the team-first spirit of The Table, John and Tara declined to use their last names or be pictured. “Everybody wears the same shirt”, John said.)

Learn more about The Table, where “Everyone Has a Seat”, at tablecafe.org, and visit them for lunch Mondays through Fridays at the old Gans Furniture building at 1800 Portland Ave.