Charging the Rich to Feed the Poor

A restaurant named Robin Hood in Spain operates in a simple but unique business model. It charges its customers by day, and serves the homeless free of charge at night. During the daytime, the Robin Hood restaurant, which sits on a side street near the centre of Madrid, is a typical Spanish bar, selling coffee, fruits, cigarettes and hams. But at night, it turns itself into a place where homeless people can dine, free of charge, at tables set with beautiful flowers, metal cutlery, glass dishes and pumpkins. In the evening, the restaurant feed about 100 homeless people. Its business model — using breakfast and lunch takings from paying customers to fund free evening meals for the homeless — is simple enough. Its aim, however, is a little more ambitious. The restaurant is the latest plan of the charity — messengers of peace, which was founded 54 years ago by Father Angel. He is 80 years old now. “It’s important to give people dignity whether it’s through bread or through work,” said Father Angel. “So I thought, why not open a restaurant? The homeless can come and eat here and get the same treatment as everyone else. I want the homeless to share the experience and dignity of eating in a restaurant rather than a soup kitchen.” “Its name was taken from the English folk hero, who stole from the rich in order to give their wealth to the poor,” Father Angel said, “The idea is not to rob the rich to feed the poor but to share. The name is just to get people to notice it. ”