{"id":763,"date":"2026-05-22T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=763"},"modified":"2026-05-22T15:40:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:40:00","slug":"family-starts-a-new-pay-what-you-can-restaurant-in-the-triangle-heres-where","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=763","title":{"rendered":"Family starts a new pay-what-you-can restaurant in the Triangle. Here\u2019s where"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

A family is on a mission to feed people in North Carolina \u2014 no matter their financial situations.<\/p>\n

Read more Might the Hurricanes swap goalies against the Canadiens? Here are their options<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some food insecurity in Pittsboro that people don\u2019t realize,\u201d Jennie Knowlton told The News & Observer in a Wednesday, May 20 phone interview. \u201cBecause if you just drive through, you see this quaint, cute little town.\u201d<\/p>\n

But on closer look, Knowlton said there are people in need of help. And she knows that kind of need first hand, having faced food insecurity in her early years, including as the child of a single mother.<\/p>\n

To help feed the Pittsboro community<\/a>, she teamed up with her loved ones to start a pay-what-you can restaurant. She still can\u2019t believe the vision that emerged over five years ago turned into the Quiltmaker Cafe, which had its grand opening this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that I\u2019m meeting new people, and they\u2019re really supportive of it,\u201d said Knowlton, co-founder and executive director of the cafe. \u201cAnd we have a lot of return customers already, just in the two weeks, so that\u2019s very exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Quiltmaker Cafe<\/a> is a nonprofit that opened Monday, May 4 in downtown Pittsboro, a roughly 15-mile drive southwest from Chapel Hill.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really wanted to be in a downtown where people could walk to us, and Pittsboro was just very accepting of this idea,\u201d Knowlton said.<\/p>\n

Here are key details about the restaurant:<\/p>\n

A post shared by The Quiltmaker Caf\u00e9 (@quiltmakercafe)<\/a><\/p>\n

The roughly 3,500 square-foot restaurant has 70 seats, with more space outdoors. It\u2019s in the former home of Postal Fish Company, which closed in October after eight years in business, The N&O previously reported.<\/p>\n

Read more How Stephen Colbert Took a Parting Shot at CBS During Last ‘Late Show’<\/a><\/p>\n

Before owner Bill Hartley closed the restaurant<\/a>, he had served on the nonprofit\u2019s board. Knowlton was grateful for his guidance as she worked with her daughter, Elizabeth, and husband, David, to launch the cafe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve waitressed before, but I didn\u2019t know anything about running a restaurant … or nonprofits,\u201d Jennie Knowlton said. \u201cAnd so luckily all those webinars during COVID were going on, and I just started learning about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the Quiltmaker Cafe grows its volunteer pool, it may expand weekend hours and serve brunch fare. For now, the menu features lunch dishes, including the popular peach yogurt soup and the fan-favorite Reuben sandwich topped with corned beef, according to Jennie Knowlton.<\/p>\n

At other pay-what-you-can restaurants, you may see suggested prices next to dishes on the menu. But you won\u2019t find that format at the Quiltmaker Cafe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf my mom had walked into some place like that \u2014 which would have been great for us \u2014 and she saw a suggested price and she wasn\u2019t able to meet that, she would have just turned around and left because of her pride and dignity,\u201d Jennie Knowlton said.<\/p>\n

Family also influenced<\/a> another decision at the restaurant: the name. Years ago, Jennie and David Knowlton read their daughter \u201cThe Quiltmaker\u2019s Gift,\u201d a bedtime story about a quiltmaker who teaches a king about generosity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt always kind of made me tear up a little bit, and think, gosh, I wish I could be that quiltmaker,\u201d Jennie Knowlton said. \u201cSo when we as a family were doing this, that was just the perfect name for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Meet the 8 students representing NC in the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee<\/a><\/p>\n

To find out more about the cafe, visit thequiltmakercafe.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Restaurant closed in downtown Pittsboro NC. Now, North Carolina nonprofit Quiltmaker Cafe has sandwiches, soup on lunch menu as customers face food insecurity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nFamily starts a new pay-what-you-can restaurant in the Triangle. 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