PAY WHAT YOU CAN Day of Action Exceeds 100 Restaurants Worldwide Including NYC

Michelin-starred Mexico City restaurant, Masala y Maíz is excited to announce that its community-centered initiative, “Paga Lo Que Puedas/Pay What You Can” taking place on August 26, 2026, has exceeded over 100 restaurants representing 12 countries, committed to dedicating one day of its service to a model long-championed by the restaurant and its chef-owners Norma Listman and Saqib Keval. 

This new global effort is an evolution of the restaurant’s 2025 “Paga Lo Que Puedas, Pay What You Can” Day, when Masala y Maíz was joined by more than 20 Mexico City restaurants in opening their doors to their communities without money being a barrier, at a time when the cost of living in the city is rising and accessibility is hard-won. Fellow participating restaurants included, Expendio de Maiz Sin Nombre (awarded one Michelin star), Baldio (awarded a Green Michelin star), Mux Mexico, Fideo Gordo, ⁠⁠AHUMALIA, among others. 

This year, Masala y Maiz invited restaurants across the globe to implement the “Paga Lo Que Puedas, Pay What You Can" model for one day, utilizing the playbook shared by Masala y Maíz, and adapting the initiative to their own spaces, teams, and communities. 

Restaurants committed to lead this effort includes, but are not limited to:

New York, New York

• Kabawa, led by Chef Paul Carmichael, recognized by the MICHELIN Guide for New York and ranked #4 on The New York Times list of 100 best restaurants in New York City.
• HAGS, praised by Bon Appétit as one of the “Best New Restaurants of 2023” and spotlighted by The New York Times.
• Vato, Chef Fidel Caballero’s casual daytime bakery and sister to Michelin-starred restaurant Corima. 
• Hellender, spotlighted by Bon Appetit, The New York Times, and Eater and led by rising star, Chef Yara Herrera.

Washington, DC

• Albi, the Michelin-starred Palestinian restaurant listed as number 33 in North America’s 50 Best Restaurants and led by Chef Michael Rafidi. 
• Oyster Oyster, the Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant led by Chef Rob Rubba 

Austin, Texas

• Comadre Panaderia, located in Austin, Texas and helmed by Food & Wine’s “Best New Chef” Mariela Camacho. 
• Nixta Taqueria, MICHELIN Green Star-recipient and James Beard Award-winning restaurant located in Austin, Texas. 
• Lenoir, recognized by MICHELIN
• L'Oca d'Oro

Houston, Texas 

• Preemo’s Bakeshop

New Orleans, Louisiana

• Casimiro, Chef Ana Castro’s soon-to-open Mexican breakfast and lunch restaurant, located in New Orleans. 
• Ayu Bakehouse

Oakland, California 

• Bombera, Chef Dominica Rice-Cisnero’s MICHELIN-recognized restaurant located in Oakland, California. 
• Understory, a worker-owned restaurant and collective based in Oakland, California. 
• Sfizio

San Francisco, California

• Reem’s, Chef Reem Assil’s street corner bakery

• Merkado

Baltimore, Maryland 

• Red Emma’s
• Mera Kitchen Collective

Atlanta, Georgia 

• Kamayan, MICHELIN-recognized filipino restaurant 
• El Ponce
• Vinny's Mutual Aid Bakery

Nashville, Tennessee 

• Maiz de la Vida

Boston, Massachusetts

• Barra, named best "Mexican Restaurant” from Boston Magazine 
• Comfort Kitchen, recognized as one of the “Best Restaurants in Boston” from The New York Times 

International

• Mexico’s Expendio de Maiz, Baldio (winner of a MICHELIN Green Star), Outline, Baldío, Outline, Ahumalia, Panaderia Cinco y Dos, Sobremasa Desayunador, Bao Bao, Mux, Malix, Mita, Mignon Pâtisserie, Via Sol, Cicatriz, Loup Bar, Rudo, Umani Fermentos, among others. 
• Columbia’s Chicheria Demente and Tacaloa
• Spain’s Casa Dulce Panadería Mexicana
• Nigeria’s El Padrino
• India’s Americano, To Die For, Sando Club, Mai Mai, and Mescalita Cantina y Tequila Bar.
• Turkey’s  Foxy Nişantaşı, a MICHELIN-recognized restaurant and wine bar, Todos Los Días, The Rabbit Hole at Olympos Mountain Lodge, Capra Çukurbağ, Todos Los Dias
• Cuba’s Grados
• Australia’s Kolkata Social
• Brazil’s Midi Forneria E Enoteca
• Denmark’s Wasted 
• Peru’s Piedra
• Italy’s Alma Latina
• Portugal’s A la Mexa

Masala y Maíz has become known and distinguished for its deeply personal cuisine blending East African, Indian, and Mexican culinary traditions – a reflection of the chefs’ own intersecting histories and migrations. Norma and Saqib have been featured on the cover of Food & Wine, received the magazine’s prestigious “Best New Chefs” accolade, named one of TIME Magazine’s “World’s Greatest Places,” spotlighted in an episode of Chef’s Table on Netflix, and awarded a Michelin Star.  Since opening, the restaurant has centered its work on using food and hospitality as tools to build community and expand access, and have frequently hosted “pay what you can” days at the restaurant, in the hopes of making Masala y Maíz accessible to all people.

““Paga Lo Que Puedas, Pay What You Can was rooted in why we cook in the first place,” said co-founders Saqib Keval and Norma Listman. “To open our doors fully to our community and offer the complete experience of our food and hospitality — without money being a barrier, demonstrates how a benevolent restaurant business model can also be a successful model.”

 For more information, please visit https://www.pagaloquepuedas-paywhatyoucan.com or @masalaymaiz and @pagaloquepuedas_paywhatyoucan on Instagram. 

Photo Credit: Masala y Maíz.  

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