Down-and-out get boost at Salvation Army’s cafe

Jace Radke

Friday, Oct. 22, 1999 | 11:18 a.m.

After being open just five days one of Las Vegas' newest cafes is already packing them in.

The Salvation Army's Campus Corner Cafe is offering homeless and low-income people an alternative dining experience to soup lines.

Monday through Friday at 5:30 p.m. the Salvation Army's dining room, at 33 W. Owens Ave., transforms into a cafe complete with waiters and waitresses who seat diners as they arrive.

"It was pretty different. Usually when you go to Salvation Army you stand in line and get your food, but it was nice to sit down and have someone bring us out our food," said Ralph Griffin, who lives at the Lied Transitional Housing Apartments, 35 W. Owens Ave. "It saves me messing up my dishes, and you can't beat two bucks for dinner."

Griffin and others interested in eating dinner at the cafe need a small white plastic token that can be bought for $2, Salvation Army spokeswoman Sue Markham said.

"The tokens are available for anyone to buy, and we're hoping that residents and businesses in the community will buy them and give them to homeless people they pass on the street," Markham said. "This way people know that the person they are helping will be getting a good meal instead of spending the money on something else.

"It also allows for low-income families, college students or those on a tight budget to get a good meal at a good price."

Markham says she wasn't expecting much of a turnout for the first few weeks, but so far about 20 people a night are dining at the cafe.

The cafe offers hamburgers, hot dogs and fish sandwiches with a green salad and fries. The cafe also has daily specials such as, enchiladas with rice and beans, or meatloaf with mixed vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy.

The waiters and busboys are volunteers from the Salvation Army's Pathways Program, which provides shelter to homeless who are chronically mentally ill and need to be stabilized through medication before getting back out into the world.

"We already have regulars," waitress Karen Gibb said of the cafe. "I've always wanted to be a waitress, and this is helping me learn the job."

Darren Johnson, who graduated from the Salvation Army's culinary program, is the cafe's head chef and says he hopes to see the menu and the restaurant style service expand.

"If this is a hit, we would eventually like to expand the cafe to a site off Salvation Army grounds," Johnson said. "The people that come in are surprised when they see we seat them, take their orders and serve their food. We really try to make it fun."

The tokens can be purchased at the Salvation Army individually or in stacks of 10, 20 or 30.