All Youth Deserve To Dream
We create opportunities for justice-involved youth through an ever-expanding network of award-winning restaurants and training programs. Youth, ages 15–19, gain industry skills and a strong support system. Restaurants alone can’t transform the juvenile justice system, but they can reshape communities and futures—one meal, one person at a time.
Learn more about our model
Our Impact
Our justice system can be very messy, especially when it comes to the way it works (or doesn’t) for young people.
Despite reforms, youth incarceration remains a critical issue in the United States, which continues to have the highest youth confinement rates among developed nations. As of the most recent data, approximately 36,500 youth under age 18 are detained in juvenile facilities on any given day, a significant decrease from prior years. However, disparities and systemic challenges persist. Around 200 children under age 12 are confined annually, and some youth are still held in adult facilities, despite reforms aimed at reducing this practice.
Our Mission
Café Momentum's mission is to transform young lives by equipping our community’s justice-involved youth with life skills, education and employment opportunities to help them achieve their full potential.
Transforming Lives
A Decade of Hope, Growth and Impact
For 10 years, Café Momentum has empowered justice-involved youth to dream big, rewrite their stories and build brighter futures. With over 1,200 lives transformed, our work proves the power of community and opportunity.
Watch Tristyn and Chad’s story and see how your support fuels the next chapter.
10 Years of Momentum: A Bold New Vision
Today marks a momentous milestone for Café Momentum: 10 years of transforming lives, breaking down stigma and proving what’s possible when we invest in opportunity for our youth.
10 Years of Cafe Momentum
Events
-
April 6, 2025 | Dallas
-
April 9, 2025 | Pittsburgh
In the News
-
April 2, 2025 | Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Pittsburgh
Chad Houser Named 2025 James Beard Humanitarian of the Year
We are proud to share that Chad Houser, founder and CEO of Café Momentum, has been named the 2025 James Beard Humanitarian of the Year. This honor from the James Beard Foundation recognizes individuals or organizations within the food industry who have demonstrated exceptional selflessness and dedication to improving the lives of others and society […]
-
March 24, 2025 | Pittsburgh
Cafe Momentum changes speed with introduction of lunch service and new culinary team
Hal B. Klein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Two years into its run, Cafe Momentum, the Downtown Pittsburgh restaurant known for pairing social advocacy with great food, has launched lunch service. The daytime menu includes comfort-focused dishes such as a juicy chicken sandwich with roasted peppers, smoked provolone, mozzarella and arugula on house-made focaccia and a vibrant beet and Brussels sprouts […]
-
March 19, 2025 | Atlanta
Cafe Momentum Pushes Forward Youth Justice Mission with Incoming Atlanta Restaurant
After a series of pop-ups that began in 2024, Café Momentum, an award-winning nonprofit restaurant, is finally opening the doors of its first Atlanta location on Thursday, March 27. With a mission to transform the lives of justice-involved youth, the restaurant is tackling juvenile incarceration intervention in a new way, blending rehabilitation and development with fine […]
Our manifesto
Dreams are the ink with which we write our stories
We learn to dream the moment we take our first steps: We’re told we can go anywhere, do anything, be anyone. That we’re limited only by what we dare to imagine, and how hard we’re willing to work for it. But for some of us, there are limits. Some of us don’t get to write our own stories.
Read full manifesto
