By mid-March, Evanston’s Gibbs-Morrison Cultural Center will become home to a restaurant that not only aims to feed paying customers, but dedicates funds and resources toward feeding the homeless and food-insecure.

First Slice Pie Cafe, 1823 Church St., will open its first location in the suburbs this year as the chain expands beyond the three cafes it currently operates in Chicago. First Slice uses its profits to help support outreach programs, said Ann-Louise Haak, the cafe’s executive director. Each week, the business prepares about 600 meals for those who are homeless or hungry, and the meals are distributed by organizations the cafe partners with, she said.

Dale Davis, an employee at C&W Market and Ice Cream Parlor, 1901 Church St., said he is excited about First Slice coming to Evanston and hopes the cafe will have a positive effect on the community.

“I love pie, so I’ve been waiting personally for it to open,” Davis said. “I’ve heard a lot of people coming in and asking around as to when it’s going to open.”

In addition to different types of pies, First Slice Pie Cafe’s menu will include sandwiches, soups and house-made tamales, Haak said. She said First Slice was born out of a preexisting business plan called the Subscriber Program, through which employees prepare three meals per weekend for families. Like with meals from the restaurant, proceeds from the Subscriber Program go toward feeding the homeless and hungry.

“We were running our subscriber food program feeding the homeless and we had food left over,” she said. “We were like, ‘we should really find something to do with this leftover food — we don’t want to throw it away.’”

That extra food led to the creation of First Slice, now the primary venture. The Subscriber Program continues to operate out of the restaurant’s locations and will be a feature of the Evanston location, Haak said. She added that the program’s meals include three entrees, six side dishes and pie for dessert.

“It is a great way for busy families to get a delicious and nutritious meal on the table in 30 minutes on a weeknight,” Haak said. “We are really excited about bringing our meal subscriber program to the Evanston community.”

Haak said the name of the cafe reflects its mission — to provide homeless and hungry people with delicious food, not leftovers and scraps.

“It is our commitment to give the first slice back to those who are hungry and homeless, not the crumbs that are left over at the end of the meal,” she said. “That mission really is at the heart of everything that we do.”

Haak also added that she hoped the restaurant can partner with local organizations so that it might better give back to the Evanston community and serve its hungry population.

Paul Zalmezak, an economic development official for Evanston, said he first learned about First Slice Pie Cafe when he lived in Chicago several years ago. Zalmezak was a customer at the cafe’s Ravenswood location, which was located inside an art gallery similar to the one opening in the Gibbs-Morrison Cultural Center, he said.

The pie cafe will be a good fit for Evanston, as it has good food, prior experience sharing a space and a mission to address hunger and homelessness, Zalmezak said. He added that students and teachers at Evanston Township High School, located across the street, will provide a great source of potential customers.

Haak said she hopes First Slice will help bridge socioeconomic divides by providing quality food to residents regardless of their ability to pay.

“Our goal is to set a really big (proverbial) table where there is room for everybody,” Haak said. “People who can afford to pay their way are welcome to come sit down at the table. Folks who can’t afford to pay are equally welcome. When we share, there are seats somehow, there will always be enough for everyone.”

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