Tricklebee Cafe Offers Pay-as-You-Go Healthy Food in Milwaukee

Christie Melby-Gibbons visited one building after another, only to find each deserted structure infested with animals, covered in filth and filled with strange odors. While the area’s high poverty and unemployment drove investment away, Melby-Gibbons sought to open her business in the neediest area of Milwaukee she could find.

After inspecting eight properties along a six-mile stretch of North Avenue, she finally found one that felt different; it spoke to her. She knew that this neglected, decaying storefront was her future café.

Faced with skepticism from her landlord, Melby-Gibbons spent the next year gutting, deep cleaning, and painting the abandoned building, embellishing its exterior with a bright blue sign and vegetable-print curtains. She had one mission in mind: to make sure that people could eat, regardless of the amount of money in their pockets.

“I know there are a lot of neighbors who don’t know where their next meal will come from,” said Melby-Gibbons. “And I can’t imagine how terrifying it is to be a parent with children and not know what you’re going to feed them.”

Seven years have passed since Melby-Gibbons opened Tricklebee Café at 4424 W. North Ave., and the restaurant remains a place for those facing food insecurity to access nutritious, plant-based nourishment. The café follows a pay-what-you-can model, and rather than setting prices for menu items, Melby-Gibbons allows guests to compensate for their meals however they can.

“I think the model just sort of acknowledges that the people coming through the door have something to offer,” said Melby-Gibbons. “And people feel good about giving. Even our homeless neighbors will put money in or volunteer their time by helping bus the tables or picking up litter.”

In addition to food, Tricklebee offers Milwaukee residents a communal place to gather. Locally-made signs, artwork and posters line the walls, and the café’s large tables encourage guests to connect with one another.

“This city is very racially divided, and still very segmented in terms of neighborhoods,” said Melby-Gibbons. “So at Tricklebee, it’s often a place for all different ethnic backgrounds. People are represented in different socioeconomic statuses; people are eating together.”

Four part-time employees and a group of 20 volunteers run the cafe alongside Melby-Gibbons. Tricklebee’s volunteer groups often include individuals who need to fulfill community service hours, retirees who want to continue doing something meaningful, and neighbors who simply want to give back. Volunteer and former employee Ant Va began contributing at Tricklebee after dining at the café two years ago.

“I feel so welcome, and it’s just warm, and there’s so much life here,” said Va. “That made me want to come back, and since I knew that I could contribute my time and energy to help keep this place running, I started volunteering and working here.”

Tricklebee also receives community support in the form of food donations. Local organizations such as MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary and Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center donate leftover items from their food pantries, and Milwaukee-based farmers provide the café with fresh produce.

Rather than buying ingredients to cook pre-planned dishes, Tricklebee’s kitchen staff creates the café’s daily menu based on the donated produce they receive throughout the week, which helps to reduce wasted food in Milwaukee, according to Melby-Gibbons. They develop recipes spontaneously, and work as a team to compose a unique menu each day.

“It’s sort of like the show Chopped,” said Melby-Gibbons. “The chef gets a box of food, and you’re like, alright, make something amazing.”

In addition to serving prepared meals, staff members at Tricklebee stock the front of the café with free bags of beans and rice, along with fresh vegetables and herbs that are donated by farmers. To help families overcome food insecurity, volunteers put together healthy snack bags for children to pick up every day.

“I just want to let people know that we’re always here,” said Melby-Gibbons, “and that they can always come through and get something to eat no matter what.”