‘Pay-as-you-feel’ restaurant chain Lentil As Anything to close three remaining Melbourne stores

The chain, which has asked customers to pay in accordance to what they feel a meal was worth, has been operating for 21 years. 

Lentil As Anything, the vegan restaurant chain known for its ‘pay-as-you-feel’ model, is closing its three remaining stores in Melbourne.

Founder Shanaka Fernando said its not-for-profit restaurants at Abbotsford, St Kilda and Thornbury would close on February 27.

The chain, which has asked customers to pay in accordance to what they feel a meal was worth, has been operating for 21 years. Their sole Sydney restaurant at Newtown closed its doors last month due to “being unable to reach an agreement on an appropriate rent in light of the impact of Covid," according to a post in one of their official Instagram accounts.

“It breaks my heart because I know that so many of you rely on us as a resource — not just for a meal but for social connection. And I dearly hope that in some way, our values and our practices will remain and spread in our society. Our journey has been to celebrate and activate human freedom in a society that strives to control everything, to quantify, to reduce humanity to a consumable commodity,” he said in a video posted on their official Facebook page.

“Lentil As Anything has been an open-ended proposition to engage with trust, with an open heart, to celebrate difference and diversity so we can come together and be the sum of all our parts.”