The Story of Tricklebee Cafe

Tricklebee Cafe, 4414 W. North Ave. Photo taken March 17, 2025 by Sophie Bolich.

Pay what you can, give what you’ve got and pull up a chair; there’s room for all at Tricklebee Cafe.

Opened in November 2016, the community-focused restaurant at 4414 W. North Ave. is nearing its ninth anniversary. Given its unique, choose-your-own price format, Tricklebee’s success has come as a surprise to many — even Executive Director Christie Melby-Gibbons.

“It’s kind of baffling. I think everyone is a little baffled every year that we made it again,” she said.

Even without listed prices, most customers contribute something—even just a handful of change. And if cash is tight, the old adage rings true: time is money.

“If you don’t have any money to give, which happens a couple times a day, people can give their time,” said Melby-Gibbons, noting that customers can complete small tasks, such as wiping tables, picking up litter, rolling napkins and cutlery, bussing tables and more. After about 15 minutes of work, they’re welcome to eat. “I think people love that — it’s totally different and it catches people sort of off guard.”

Tricklebee serves an ever-changing menu of healthy, plant-based meals, typically offering a soup, entree, salad and dessert each day. The cafe uses donated produce and herbs from suppliers like Alice’s Garden, Cream City Farms and We Have Always Been Related, as well as from its own garden plots. Additional ingredients, such as spices and oils, are purchased as needed.

“Every day, our chefs work with what we have on hand, if possible,” Melby-Gibbons said, noting that the practice “works beautifully” for three-fourths of the year but becomes more challenging in late winter, as produce—even items preserved through dehydrating, freezing and powdering—begins to dwindle.

A recent menu features carrot ginger stir fry soup, lentil crostini, spinach apple salad and orange chocolate fudgy mousse, with lemonade, tea and coffee to drink. All items are vegan, and most are gluten-free.

Even with limited resources, the menu is healthful and varied. The task requires a creative streak and lots of planning, but for Melby-Gibbons, the results are worthwhile.

“I think the word dignity is relevant,” she said. “People feel like they have a choice in what they’re eating, and also a choice in how they’re giving. If you want to put a few quarters in, great. If you want to keep those quarters and give your time, great.”

Customers seem to agree, as the cafe attracts many repeat visitors of all ages and backgrounds.

“Everyone is valued right from the start, and it doesn’t matter what you look like, how much money you have, if you slept on the street, if you slept in a home — doesn’t matter,” Melby-Gibbons said. “It’s like a leveling place… we’re on the same plane.”

Tricklebee’s community focus extends beyond its payment model, also manifesting in large, communal tables, which encourage mingling and conversation.

“We have really large tables on purpose, Melby-Gibbons said, describing how those eating alone are often joined by larger groups. “Inevitably, everybody starts talking and sharing ideas. It’s just awesome. Every day I get to watch these blossoming friendships and community forming just because the tables are big.”

From Play Food to Plant-Based Cafe

Melby-Gibbons traces her interest in food service back to early childhood, when instead of preparing soup and sandwiches, she cooked up mud pies and seaweed salad to “feed” family members.

“I’ve been playing restaurants since I could walk,” she said.

She eventually moved on from organic materials — albeit temporarily — and began requesting play food for birthdays and holidays. Many of those toys — including a realistic-looking peanut butter sandwich — are now available in the children’s play area at Tricklebee.

“Food has always been really important to me,” Melby-Gibbons said. “Just making good, healthy food, eating with people, gathering people together around food—it’s the thing we all do, right? Everybody eats.”

That passion continued into her adult years. While working at a Moravian Church in Southern California, Melby-Gibbons partnered with a local congregation that was salvaging excess food from a nearby grocery store and bakery.

Unsure of how to utilize the food, Melby-Gibbons decided to give it away. She placed it outside with a sign reading “Free Food” and allowed neighbors to take what they pleased.

Unwanted items —mostly “healthy stuff” like hummus and kale—were then used to prepare meals for the public. The events, held in a large fellowship hall, became known as Open Table.

The practice quickly became Melby-Gibbons’ favorite part of the job, prompting her to research similar concepts. That’s when she discovered One World Everybody Eats, a network of pay-what-you-can community cafes.

“Instantly, I felt like I had a crush on that model,” she said. “People pay what they want, the food is fresh, it’s a community hub, it’s volunteer-driven — all of those things. I went to one of their annual summits and it was an instant bond, so I was like, ‘I’m going to start a little cafe.’ And we went for it.”

After considering a number of cities throughout the U.S., Melby-Gibbons and her spouse settled on Milwaukee — specifically, Uptown Crossing, and moved their family there not long after.

“I’d done some demographic studies of the city, and we knew we wanted to do this in an area where there was an actual lack of healthy, good food — where there were less jobs available, and where most people were hovering at or below the poverty level,” she said. She added that her family, now living approximately 300 feet from the cafe, also fits that description. “We’re not like wealthy people swooping in.”

At first, neighbors in the largely African American neighborhood were taken aback by the new presence. “Milwaukee is still a very segregated city, unfortunately ” Melby-Gibbons said. “So we knew what we were doing. I think a few people were confused when we first moved, or they thought we were confused.”

But strong relationships developed over time. “Overall, we have been well received,” Melby-Gibbons said. “In the decade we’ve lived here, some of our deepest friendships have formed with our neighbors.”

Melby-Gibbons took a boots-on-the-ground approach to selecting a site for the business, spending eight months traversing North Avenue to scout empty storefronts. “I was like, ‘I know one of these wants to be a little cafe.'”

Amid a number of disappointing tours, one building in particular “felt different.” Today, after extensive renovations, it’s the site of Tricklebee Cafe. The business rented its storefront for four years before purchasing the entire building in 2020. It’s served more than 100,000 meals since opening.

Tricklebee gets its name from a childhood misunderstanding. Back in the days of seaweed salads and mud pies, Melby-Gibbons heard her mom discussing various projects, noting that. “The trick’ll be finding the right tools.” Instead of a conjunction, a young Melby-Gibbons heard that as one word: tricklebee. That phrase now reflects the cafe’s daily operations: the trick’ll be staffing, the trick’ll be sourcing ingredients, the trick’ll be sustaining a restaurant where people feel safe, welcomed and well-fed.

Nearly a decade into the venture, Melby-Gibbons is confident in the pay-what-you-can format, so much so that she hopes to see other entrepreneurs adopt a similar approach.

“I think there’s a lot of beauty in this model, and I would love to see it spread—not just to cafes, but also to grocery stores, barber shops, mechanics and more.” She also offers her expertise to anyone interested, noting that she has “a paper trail” of all the necessary documents and procedures.

Looking ahead, Melby-Gibbons hopes to expand educational and nutritional programming at Tricklebee, something the cafe was doing more of before COVID-19. She also hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a second location, specifically a quick-service spot focused on takeout.

For now, she’s focused on running the current business to the best of her ability. “My goal is for us to continue being a positive community hub—a space that can contain all the goodness around us,” she said. “I feel like we’re just a magnet for all of the beauty that’s already happening here.”

Tricklebee Cafe is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For volunteer opportunities, visit the business’s website.

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