A café in Ebeltoft is making permanent a membership scheme in which customers choose their own price and then buy coffee and baked goods at cost.
Go’ Kaffe, owned by Bjarke Mathias Jensen, has tested a model where guests become members for an amount they select themselves. As DR reported on September 8, 2026, the owner now intends to make the arrangement permanent.
Members may drink as much coffee as they like at the café’s purchase price for raw materials. The same applies to the bread and pastries from the bakery located behind the café counter.
According to Bjarke Mathias Jensen, the point is to give less well-off guests a cheap way in. Those with more means can pay more, and in effect cover part of the cost for others.
He told DR that the café’s finances hold up under the model. He is able to pay wages to himself and to his employees, despite selling to members at cost price.
The owner also said the café was not created to make money. His stated measure of success is contributing to a world where people think as much about each other as about themselves, rather than a large bottom line.
Regulars paid between 30 and 500 kroner
Among the near daily guests are Birgitte and Bjarne Adamsen, who sit at their usual table by the entrance. Both were members during the trial period, and each paid 500 kroner for the membership.
Birgitte Adamsen, who is 71, said she does not mind that others may pay only 30 kroner a month. Per her account, a lower price is what brings in a mix of people and makes the café affordable for everyone.
Her husband added that it is reassuring to know that Bjarke Mathias Jensen has his fixed costs covered. The couple’s remarks were reported by DR.
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Another regular, Noa England Skovdal, lives in Ebeltoft and visits with his one-year-old daughter. He and his partner joined for a total of about 300 to 400 kroner, which was what the family budget allowed for their household of three small children.
As stated by Noa England Skovdal, the membership creates an incentive to come more often and to become part of the community. He also said he considers the sliding scale fair, comparing it to how Danish society is arranged.
The café has its entrance in the backyard, with a garden where communal singing is held on Fridays. No date has been fixed for when the self-selected membership price becomes permanent, but the owner hopes it can take effect during the autumn of 2026.
