Mars Hill Cafe

Alabama Mobile Help yourself at this restaurant and you help the needy too.

by Jere Hough

Published: Fri, November 07, 2008 - 2:04 pm CST Last Updated: Fri, November 07, 2008 - 3:02 pm CST

At first glance this seems a pretty standard restaurant, maybe a little larger, a little quieter. But eventually you see the big sign: "Cafe Mission." A cafe with a mission? And the last sentence says the profits will go to people who need help? Yes.
Manager of the Mars Hill Cafe, Joe Langley, explains they will "...take all the profits and find local charities to help feed the homeless."
The Mars Hill Cafe opened in late 2007, and this month is on the cusp of turning their first profit.
"Right now we're focusing on the Salvation Army and Mobile Area Food Bank," says Langley.
The customers like the idea, too.
One woman says, "What a win-win situation. You can leave this place with a full belly, and know that you helped somebody out. How many opportunities do you get to do that?"
The location was a deli that closed, then leased, with the fixtures, by a group forming a new church they called "The People of Mars Hill."
Langley explains how the idea of the restaurant was born, "And the people started saying, you know we have all this here, we're just using it on Sunday. Why not just use it Monday through Friday and give away the profits! And everybody was like, 'That's the weirdest, craziest idea I ever heard. I love it. Let's do it.'"
There are curtains pulled across the sections of the church used for worship. In fact, unless you ask about the name, you would not know this is a church-run restaurant.
A diner comments, "It's a great atmosphere. And taking a look at the mission statement, I like it even more just because of the heart of the people that are doing this."
But man doth not live by good will alone; he continues, "And the food's pretty good so far, too" (LAUGHS)
Other diners echo his sentiments...they all like the atmosphere and food. The menu is fairly small and features wraps, salads, and soup. They are open only for lunch Monday through Friday, but hope to expand the hours as the business grows. The Mars Hill Cafe is located at 5025 Cottage Hill Road in Mobile. The phone number is (251) 643-1595.
What is the significance of the name Mars Hill? That is the English translation of an area in Athens, Greece, where the Apostle Paul spoke about Jesus to the Athenians. The Biblical story is told in "Acts" starting in Chapter 17, Verse 16.

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