When the going got tough at her Dallas restaurant, Dana Parris decided to turn the cash register over to God.

Roger Self was at lunch last week when he discovered the unique pricing policy at East Main Street�s Just Cookin diner. When he went to settle his tab for a grilled chicken sandwich, he got a surprise instead of a bill.



When the going got tough at her Dallas restaurant, Dana Parris decided to turn the cash register over to God.



Roger Self was at lunch last week when he discovered the unique pricing policy at East Main Street�s Just Cookin diner. When he went to settle his tab for a grilled chicken sandwich, he got a surprise instead of a bill.



�Her response was, �What was it worth to you?�� Self said.



Parris explained to Self that she wasn�t charging a set price, instead leaving that decision in the hands of her customers and God.



�You stepped out on faith. I�m going to step out on faith, too,� Self told Parris � before handing her about double what he would have expected to pay.



�I thought that probably wouldn't be the recommendation of a business coach,� he said, �but if the Lord is the coach, then how could she go wrong?�



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Parris explained that she�d been praying about her restaurant business ever since things slowed down over the summer. The more she tried to wrestle a dollar out of the grill, the more she felt she was trying to do it all herself.



She said God told her to trust him.



�He just came to me and said I don�t need to do it, I need to let him do it,� Parris said. �The way I could show I was giving God control was to give him control of the cash register.�



Parris, 52, managed a fast food restaurant before opening Just Cookin two years ago in January.



Many of her customers are regulars.



One gets questions about her husband�s health as she walks in the door. Told he would be coming home soon, Parris gets excited.



�Put it down in the praise book,� she yells, pointing toward two books at the front of the restaurant. One lists prayer requests while the other counts blessings.



Customers walking out the door get a �God bless you� from Parris.



Jerry Scruggs, who owns a property management company in Dallas, said he eats breakfast most mornings at Just Cookin. He worries a little about people taking advantage of a place Parris makes feel like home. But he appreciates her motivation.



�I think it�s great to see someone test their faith, putting everything on the line, showing a little bit of trust,� Scruggs said.



Larry Huss, 71, believes the saints will outweigh the sinners, so to speak. Parris� business decision teaches her customers a lesson in faith, he said.



�It reminds me every day of the hope we have in Jesus Christ, and I think we need to be reminded of that every day,� said Huss.



A few people haven�t had the money to pay what might be considered �full price� for a meal, Parris said. She doesn�t mind serving them.



Others don�t seem to mind paying a little more.



A nurse came in short on cash and left with a drink and a hot dog at a bargain price, Parris said. Two days later the same nurse handed over $20 for an identical meal.



In fact, Parris said she has almost tripled her revenue in the first week of letting customers name their price. She had thought about doing the special pricing for a week but said Friday her customers� reactions have convinced her to continue the new pricing policy indefinitely.



�I pray that showing this little bit of faith will catch on and other people will have faith. I hope people will see his love shining here,� Parris said.



�Sometimes you just have to give control back to God.�



You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or twitter.com@TheGazetteKevin.