Last February, several Black-owned Richmond restaurants coordinated a three-day, pay-what-you-can (PWYC) event in celebration of Black History Month.
This year, the event returns, expanded — nearly twice as many restaurants from RVA to Hampton Roads will offer PWYC menus alongside their regular offerings for a Pay What You Can Unity Week from Tuesday, Feb. 17 through Sunday, Feb. 22.
Richmond’s Philly Vegan, which has offered a PWYC option once a month since its opening (and for the duration of last year’s water crises and the government shut-down) helped participating restaurants integrate PWYC menus into their everyday operations.
Philly Vegan co-owner Samuel Veney says that last year’s PWYC days were “extremely busy,” and describes the atmosphere as “a lot of positive excitement.”
After last year’s event, Black-owned restaurants across Virginia reached out to Philly Vegan to express interest in joining. Veney says this year’s lineup has “something for everyone,” with several vegan restaurants as well as restaurants offering more traditional cuisines.
Veney was pleased to see that online responses to last year’s event included discussion among restaurants in other cities about starting similar events of their own. He hopes the practice will continue to grow. “It feels good to be able to start things in a positive way, and for other people to be able to pick up on it,” he says.
Placing the event in the middle of Black History Month, the restaurateurs are looking to the future as well as the past.
Veney says, “We have the opportunity to not only honor our ancestors, but to continue their legacy by daring to do things differently than most other people are doing it. We’re daring to come together and say, ‘Hey, these communities that we are in have continuously supported us, this is our opportunity to give that support back,’ and do it in a way that shows the world that when we come together, anything is possible.”
2026 PYWC participating restaurants include: Croaker’s Spot (1020 Hull St.), Urban Hang Suite (304 E Broad St.), Charles’ Kitchen (10835 W Broad St.), Inner City Blues (3015 Nine Mile Road), Mama J’s (415 N 1st St.), The Original Ronnie’s BBQ (2097 New Market Road), Philly Vegan (1126 Hull St.), Natroganix (105 E Broad St.), Lebox Café (300 Arboretum PL #150, North Chesterfield), Desmonds Island Grill (977 Reon Drive Ste 102, Virginia Beach), Jikoni Café (633 W 35th St., Norfolk) and NuVegan Café Petersburg (950 S Sycamore St., Petersburg).
Find the full event schedule below:
Tuesday, Feb. 17
Charles’ Kitchen, 1-3 p.m.
Mama J’s, 2-5 p.m.
Croakers Spot, noon-2 p.m.
Urban Hang Suite, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Inner City Blues, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Lebox Café, 11 a.m.-2:30 pm
Jikoni Café, noon-2 p.m.
NuVegan, noon-4 p.m.
Philly Vegan, 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 18
Croaker’s Spot, noon-2 p.m.
Charles Kitchen, 1-3 p.m.
Mama J’s, 2-5 p.m.
Lebox Café, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Desmonds Island Grill, noon-4 p.m.
Jikoni Café, noon-2 p.m.
NuVegan, noon-4 p.m.
Philly Vegan, 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 19
Natroganix, 1-4 p.m. (PWYC movement & flow class, 6:30-7:30 p.m.)
Charles Kitchen, 1-3 p.m.
Inner City Blues, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Mama J’s, 2-5 p.m.
Lebox Café, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Desmonds Island Grill, noon-4 p.m.
NuVegan, noon-4 p.m.
Philly Vegan, 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 20
Natroganix, 1-4 p.m. (PWYC meditation/release/reset class 7-8 p.m.)
Charles Kitchen, 1-3 p.m.
The Original Ronnie’s BBQ, noon-4 p.m.
Lebox Café, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Jikoni Café, noon-2 p.m.
Philly Vegan, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 21
Natroganix, 1-4 p.m.
Charles Kitchen, 1-3 p.m.
The Original Ronnies BBQ, noon-4 p.m.
Philly Vegan, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 22
Charles Kitchen, 1-3 p.m.
Philly Vegan, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.
