After finishing a recent meal at Nancy’s Home Cooking, Chuck Schoen had a question about his bill: He wanted to make sure he paid more than what he owed.

The query may seem unusual anywhere else, but not at the Clintonville diner, where regular customers like Schoen know that for just an extra $5, they can help fill the belly of someone in need as part of its Pay It Forward program.

Schoen, 69, has been a regular for more than 40 years at Nancy’s, known for its hearty breakfasts and famous chicken and noodles. Though the former Clintonville resident now lives in Delaware County, he still stops in for breakfast anytime he is in town for a doctor’s appointment.

And every time he eats at the diner, he makes sure to donate $5 to Pay it Forward, which provides one free home-cooked meal to anyone in need who asks for one.

“I lived in this neighborhood for 40, 50 years, and there are a lot of people living on the streets who need help,” Schoen said. “There’s a need for more shelters, more programs like this.”

Rick Hahn became the restaurant’s owner in 2012 after the death of his wife, Sheila, who took over the restaurant from her aunt Cindy King in 2009. He started the program in 2014 to continue the legacy of King, who often would give restaurant food away to those in need at her own expense.

“She was a person who didn’t care about making money. She cared about her community,” Hahn said of King, who bought the restaurant in 1970, two years after it opened. “Somebody would come in in need, and she’d just give it to them.”

But such charity isn’t always a viable business strategy, so Hahn came up with an alternative. Knowing the diner’s loyal base of regulars, he had a feeling that they would be willing to chip in themselves to help their community.

He wasn't wrong: In five years, they have donated $22,000 to help feed upwards of 4,000 meals to the hungry.

The program’s success, he said, lies in its simplicity.

Rather than join a charitable organization to make a difference, residents can simply tack on a few extra bucks after enjoying a meal. Those dollars go to providing one carryout or dine-in meal — chicken and noodles, biscuits and gravy, breakfast platters — and one drink to someone short on funds.

“It’s easy for people who want to help,” Hahn said. “They can walk away knowing that they’re helping somebody.”

Among the tiny diner's eclectic decor — old photos of the diner’s six-decade history and placards cheekily advising patrons to “Eat It and Beat It” or to “freak out and run like hell” in case of a fire — are signs advertising the charitable program. Those who donate can opt to write a message on a post-it note, which is then displayed on a board above the cooking station.

Jim Norris, a painter from Reynoldsburg, eats at Nancy’s anytime he is working in the area. He heard about the program last year and has given to it several times since.

“You donate when it’s in your pocket,” Norris said. “Someday you might be on the other side.”

Chase Farris, a former offensive lineman for Ohio State, also regularly gives to the program when he stops in for breakfast after working out on Ohio State’s campus.

“There's not too many places you can go where they offer a chance to give back,” said Farris, 26, who lives in Blacklick. “Just to do a small gesture can impact someone in a major way.”

For Hahn, the charity is a part of Nancy’s DNA.

In 2016, he led an effort at the restaurant to raise $1,000 to help those displaced by a fire started on nearby California Avenue by resident Lincoln Rutledge, who fatally shot a Columbus police officer during an attempt to serve an arrest warrant.

In 2017, Hahn also started taking donations to package and distribute kits containing hygiene products for both men and women.

“It’s the fabric of this restaurant,” Hahn said. “It’s the glue that holds it.”

Patrons such as Schoen can attest to that. When he left the restaurant on Thursday, he came face to face outside with a man who would benefit from his donation.

After a few minutes of chatting on the sidewalk, Schoen popped his head back into the restaurant to make a request.

“I want my Pay it Forward to go to this young man here,” he said to a nearby waitress.

That man, Matt Jay, often comes to Nancy’s to ask for one of the free meals. His said that his current situation — he didn’t go into specifics — means the generosity of those like Schoen can be the difference between having lunch and not.

“It’s a nice thing they’ve got going on,” he said. “The food’s really good, too.”

elagatta@dispatch.com

@EricLagatta