Eat Licorice, Have Lunch, Make a New Friend at the Table

There’s a place in the heart of Lincoln’s Haymarket where you can enjoy a good meal at the right price and maybe even make a new friend.

The Table, a ministry of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Lincoln, is open every weekday from 11:30 .m. to 1:30 p.m. (or whenever the food runs out) at Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P Street. It was modeled after the S.A.M.E. Café in Denver, a restaurant with no prices, just a free-will donation. But the Table adds a unique twist. Guests are encouraged to sit together at a long table. The result? Lively discussions between people from all walks of life, a place to go ease your loneliness, and often new friendships.

Lincoln restaurants Thé Cup and Bread & Cup provide soup and bread at cost, and Licorice International donates candy for an after-dinner treat. Guests constantly rave about the Creamy Licorice Toffee, Licorice Starlite Mints and Anise Squares. After eating, diners leave an anonymous donation in a box.

Malcolm, a student at the University of Nebraska, is a frequent visitor to the Table. He enjoys the sense of community he finds there. “I can be having a bad day and I have a good conversation here any day of the week,” he said. “It’s easy to talk to people here.”

Caitlin, a licensed massage therapist, likes the fact that the soups are vegetarian. “I know a lot of people here, and I like the atmosphere,” she said.

If you come to Lincoln’s Haymarket area to shop at Licorice International (located just around the corner at 803 Q Street), be sure to stop at the Table for lunch and conversation.

Below: The "Licorice Ladies" at the Table's Anniversary Open House on March 26, 2010. From left: Matt Schur (youth pastor at Our Saviour's Lutheran and one of the founders of the Table); Matt's son Tyler; Lowell Hennigs (senior pastor at Our Saviour's Lutheran); Elizabeth Erlandson (co-owner of Licorice International), Elizabeth's husband, Doug; Ardith, Stuertz (co-owner of Licorice International).