With communal dining still off the cards, SHARE’s founders are launching a pay-what-you-feel breakfast pop-up, with all profits going to OzHarvest and Catherine House.

It was two days out from SHARE’s inaugural dinner event at Africola, scheduled for Monday, 16 March, that the concept’s founders, Kate Richards and Joel Tisato, heard COVID was shutting down their event.

“Duncan (Welgemoed, owner at Africola) just emailed us on that Saturday night and was like, ‘We can’t do it,’” Kate recalls.

“Everyone was so gutted. It was really shitty. And Duncan was gutted to call it off, too.”

“He was a mentor for us through it,” Joel says.

The SHARE concept aimed to bring together people of all creeds and classes into one space, to dine together, sharing food and stories.

The menu would be prepared from food diverted from landfill by OzHarvest, and there was no set menu – instead, diners could pay whatever they like depending on what they thought the meal was worth and how much they could afford.

Kate, Joel and the rest of the SHARE team were disheartened at the set back, but they decided, given they were facing a pandemic, to sit back, wait, and reconsider the concept.

With COVID-19 restrictions gradually easing in South Australia, SHARE has announced a new concept, SHARE AM, which will see the team take over ARTHUR Art House from 7am ‘til 9am on Monday, 29 June.

There will be a range of toasties available – two savoury dishes and one sweet version – and coffee available on-site from Monday’s. Baker SOIBOII will provide the event with brioche, but the rest of the food will be prepared from an OzHarvest drop a couple of days ahead of the happening.

A core tenet of the concept, a shared dining experience amongst strangers, is still not advised, but SHARE AM will still be a pay-what-you-feel model, and all profits from the event will be donated to OzHarvest’s Nourish Program and Catherine House.

“It’ll feel like a café. A cosy spot,” Joel says.

“People can sit and chat,” Kate continues. “People can’t sit together if they don’t know each other still. But if you come from the office with your mates and you want to sit and have breakfast, yeah, for sure.”

Kate and Joel will continue with this pop-up model for SHARE AM events and they have a few more plotted for the future – the details of which they want to keep a surprise.

The ultimate goal is to return to their original SHARE Dinner concept, once restaurants have been given the opportunity to recover from the economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis.

“It feels like so much to ask right now, for restaurants to give up their space,” Kate says.

“They could lose money, things could get broken. Realistically, we’re probably looking at a good six months before we can ask someone to use their restaurant.”

But you can get eat well and do good with SHARE this Monday, 29 June at ARTHUR, 66 Currie Street, Adelaide, from 7am ‘til 9pm. BYO coffee cup, and if you’ve got the cash to spare, bring your wallet.