A Fort Worth restaurant with a unique, pay-what-you-can model is expanding: Taste Project, which launched in 2017 to combat food insecurity, is opening a second “Taste Community Restaurant” location in Arlington at 200 N. Cooper St.

The restaurant is opening in a city-owned building that was formerly used by Arlington’s water department and Arlington Public Library, and is minutes north of UT-Arlington’s campus.

It’s slated to open in summer 2024.

The first Taste Project opened in 2017 on Fort Worth’s South Main Street. According to executive director Jeff Williams, it has served over 200,000 meals since opening. In February, it became internet famous when viral TikToker-food critic Keith Lee shouted out the restaurant and donated $4,000 to their cause.

“I always knew that the Taste Project was going to be more than a single location in Fort Worth,” Williams says. “We looked at the demographics in Arlington, specifically around the college, and we saw there’s a need there, especially with students.”

The restaurant serves chef-prepared meals using locally sourced seasonal ingredients. The menu doesn’t list prices; instead, customers are asked to pay what they can, what they would typically pay, or a little extra to help diners who can’t pay as much.

There aren’t any restrictions on who can dine at the Taste Community Restaurant, but it’s specifically meant for those battling food insecurity and/or those with low income.

“It’s not a place that everybody goes to, it’s a place to go when you’re in need,” Williams says.

The Arlington restaurant will be much larger than the Fort Worth location, with the extra space mainly in the kitchen, allowing for increased culinary training opportunities. However, the dining space will be similar in size, with space for about 80 indoor diners and nearly 50 outdoors.

In addition to the restaurant, the project offers a tuition-free culinary training program, which places graduates in its restaurant with jobs that pay an average of $15 per hour. The program is geared toward low-income adults and those with employment barriers, such as ex-convicts and single mothers.