CAMDEN, N.J. (WPVI) — A Camden restaurant owner is expanding her community-focused mission by offering pay-what-you-can dining on select nights, an initiative aimed at making meals more accessible and bringing families together.<\/p>\n
LaShaun Crawford, owner of Girl with a Grill, said the program is offered on certain nights each month at the restaurant’s newest location in Camden.<\/p>\n
Customers receive an envelope and contribute whatever they are able to pay.<\/p>\n
“When you put food in front of somebody, it’s almost like everything just goes away,” Crawford said. “So with the pay what you can, it’s my way of bringing families back to the dinner table. Sometimes the people that you’re working the hardest for are the ones that you spend the least amount of time with. And with the cost of food and other things, you can come, we give you an envelope.”<\/p>\n
Crawford said she does not know how much customers place in the envelopes.<\/p>\n
“And that’s the beauty behind it because there is no judgment,” she said.<\/p>\n
The initiative is rooted in Crawford’s own experiences.<\/p>\n
“At one point I was a single parent, right?” she said. “Um, I had a full-ride scholarship to college, and I was a biochem major and I had my son. I just turned 20 when I had my son, and I know how hard it was…You know, it’s so difficult to just go out to eat and to do anything nowadays.”<\/p>\n
Crawford is the latest Black female restaurateur to open a business downtown as part of Camden’s revitalization efforts. The restaurant is located inside the Camden County College Conference Center.<\/p>\n
As its name suggests, Girl with a Grill specializes in grilled foods, including hot dogs, salmon, shrimp, brisket and burgers.<\/p>\n
“Burgers, you can get them over 25 different ways,” Crawford said. “Our brisket cheese steak is, I look back on it as a dream with that recipe. And one of our biggest sellers is our good cheesesteak. We also have rice bowls.”<\/p>\n
Beyond its menu, the restaurant also includes a sensory station designed for children on the autism spectrum and other children who may benefit from additional support while dining.<\/p>\n
“It created that inclusivity that we’ve always had to allow a family to sit down and eat and the children to feel comfortable and people not to feel judged,” said Crawford.<\/p>\n
For Crawford, the restaurant is intended to provide more than food, offering families a welcoming place to gather and connect.<\/p>\n
Crawford also said she started the Forever 20 Scholarship Fund after losing her daughter at age 20. The fund awards scholarships to college-bound students pursuing studies in veterinary, hospitality or technology fields. This year, the organization awarded three scholarships.<\/p>\n
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