RED BANK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) – The rain couldn’t stop Jon Bon Jovi from opening his new charity restaurant in his home state on Wednesday.

Soul Kitchen has a “pay-what-you-can” format  designed to help the hungry without the stigma of a soup kitchen.

There are no prices on the menu. Instead, diners can pay whatever they’re able to for their meal or volunteer to work in the restaurant or other local organizations.

“At a time when 1 in 5 households are living at or below the poverty level, and at a time when 1 out of 6 Americans are food insecure, this is a restaurant whose time has come. This is a place based on and built on community – by and for the community,” Bon Jovi said.

He’s heavily involved in the operation and helps out behind the scenes even lending a hand in the kitchen by rolling up his sleeves to wash dishes.

But the rocker says “he can’t cook a lick.”

The restaurant operates out of a former 1,100 square foot auto body shop near the Red Bank train station.

The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation is subsidizing the eatery.

Soul Kitchen, which is located at 207 Monmouth St., is open from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

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