this will last a week

The story

Cafe owner Sam Lippert has come up with an innovative way to cope with the recession: He's done away with pricing and simply asks customers to pay what they want.

Lippert says sales and customer count has increased markedly since the change, and he's looking at adding more staff.

Lippert spoke Tuesday with John Roberts on CNN's "American Morning" about how he came up with the idea and how customers have reacted. Following is a transcript of their conversation:

John Roberts: So you run the Java Street Cafe. You actually own the Java Street Cafe there in Kettering, Ohio. And you've got a menu that's got no prices on it. People pay what they think the food is worth. How did you come up with that idea?

Sam Lippert: Well, actually, that was thanks to my girlfriend. She is from Bulgaria, and she says it's a common practice in certain cafes in Europe to allow the patrons to decide how much to pay for their meal. Watch Lippert explain how his no-price plan is working  Read full article »