They say time is money, so, what are you doing tomorrow? Can you take some time to spend some money at Hamilton's 541 Eatery & Exchange?

Have a coffee. Stay for lunch. Bring some friends. Buy some buttons. They'd love to see you.

Patrons aren't making enough time to keep going to it, and so the operators aren't making enough money to keep it going.

I know what you might be thinking. "Oh, 541. I go there." OK, think again. When was the last time? Not the last time you meant to go but the last time you really went?

The much celebrated not-for-profit restaurant, at 541 Barton St. E., is known for its unique community concept, whereby patrons who can,are asked to buy their food and then put out a little extra for "buttons," to be redeemed later for meals and food by patrons who can't, or can't easily, cover their costs.

It's the business of paying it forward but lately business is backwards.

Sue Carr, executive director of the volunteer-run 541 Eatery & Exchange, says that over the last five months, sales income dipped to its lowest level since it opened in 2014.

Sue Carr is executive director of 541 Eatery & Exchange | John Rennison/The Hamilton Spectator The low sales are the direct consequence of a substantial drop in the number of people visiting.

The resulting monthly deficit, says Carr, "is not sustainable."

"All restaurants go through downturns," she adds, "but for us it's slightly different as we've become a bit of an institution. People think we're here to stay and maybe they've become complacent. It's what happens."

There are other possible causes. More good coffee shops opening on and around Barton, for example. "We're not the new kid on the block anymore."

There is also, says Carr, the unfortunate stereotype among some that Barton is problematic.

"Some people are worried about coming downtown." Related to that is the perceived concern about the people who come in to 541.

Mittens, hats and scarves available to needy customers at 541 Eatery & Exchange. | John Rennison/The Hamilton Spectator "It isn't only here, it's everywhere, but, yes, we do have times when a customers gets irate." It's very rare, she adds, "but you only have to have one bad experience" to deter repeat visits.

But, she adds, the discomfort that some people might feel is part of what is real about the experience at 541. "We're not going to apologize for it." This is the "face of extreme poverty. We encourage conversation. It broadens our souls, and that's a good thing."

Quoting St. Paul in Hebrews, Carr refers to the feeling at 541 — the cross-cultural aspect of it, with people from all backgrounds and different communities — as a "cloud of witnesses" (especially with the current exhibition aloft on the walls, Les Sasaki's scotch tape portraits, which impart a kind of cloud-like, semi-transparent quality to the space).

"When you come in to these liminal places (like 541) you bear witness to what is uncomfortable sometimes, but it's rich. I don't want to romanticize it but there's an honesty and a depth to it."

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541 Eatery & Exchange is known for its button program where people can buy a button and someone in need can use the buttons toward the purchase of a meal. | John Rennison/The Hamilton Spectator She says the eatery began to notice a change starting in the late summer of 2019 and it became aggravated through the fall and winter to the point at which "we checked our sales and we were down $500 to $750 a day."

"We need people coming in," says Carr. "We're not for profit but we can't be 'for loss.'"

The eatery has issued a challenge for churches and business to consider adopting 541 for a month, meaning they'd do all their meetings for that month in the eatery.

Jenn Arnold takes an order at 541 Eatery & Exchange. | John Rennison/The Hamilton Spectator It's one of several initiatives undertaken to redress the slide. They already were changing the menu often, using social media, staging art shows and Friday open mic nights. Carr and her team wrote to a group of church conjoined in an effort called True City, asking them for help. That resulted in a boost in donations, donations being a part of how 541 balances its budget.

But more vital than donations are diners.

"There are people all over the world who know about us," says Carr. People who are interest in learning from and copying their example. People have made video documentaries about 541.

"When you come in, you say something powerful. You keep the lights on.

"We need a tapestry of care and support in this city." And it's not just the food and the community at the eatery, which boasts 150 volunteers. No, 541 also provides outreach work and runs summer camps, a soccer camp, leadership training camps and a community garden.

jmahoney@thespec.com

905-526-3306