THIS IS NOT A
NORMAL RESTAURANT

Café Momentum is a nationally-recognized nonprofit restaurant and professional training facility. We create holistic, individualized plans for young people to begin addressing the issues they’ve had to confront throughout their lives. 

Our Roots

The Café Momentum Story

In 2008, Chad Houser was the co-owner of a successful restaurant and had been nominated as the best up-and-coming chef in Dallas. At that time, he had the opportunity to teach eight young men in juvenile detention how to make ice cream – and that experience struck him to his core. “I witnessed firsthand just how much the current model for juvenile justice is designed to negatively affect our youth. Rather than building a better system, we are trying the same thing over and over again. I realized that I wanted to open a restaurant – and I wanted to let these kids run it.”

Click here to learn more about our story and impact. 

Our Restaurants

Dallas, Texas (Flagship)

1510 Pacific Street
Dallas, TX 75201

Open Thur – Sat
5:30pm – 9:30pm

214-303-1234
info@cafemomentum.org

Nashville, Tennessee

Coming Soon

Mailing Address:
4636 Lebanon Pike #168
Hermitage, TN 37076

hello@cafemomentumnsh.org

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

268 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

412-315-7765

hello@cafemomentumpgh.org

Café Momentum Internship

To apply for Café Momentum’s Internship Program, please complete the Internship form in your desired location. This form must be completed before attending the Café Momentum Internship orientation. 

National Expansion

Café Momentum is Expanding!

Social innovation must center around creating ideas for lasting change. We aim to transform the lives of justice-involved youth across the country through the Momentum model and its ecosystem of support.

In 2020, Momentum Advisory Collective was formed to scale the Momentum Model nationwide. As the parent company of Café Momentum and as a capacity-building nonprofit organization, our mission is to open new Café Momentum restaurants and programs offering living wages, culinary job training and holistic support to young people that have gone through the system.

Shifting the model for juvenile justice in the U.S. could. potentially save between $8 to $21 billion per year!

To learn more about Momentum Advisory Collective, please visit momentumadvisory.co.

Media Resources

To request a specific logo file, please email sarah@momentumadvisory.co

Click to view and/or download:

 

Café Momentum Boilerplate:

Café Momentum is an award-winning restaurant and culinary training facility. We aim 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. In building Café Momentum, our primary goal is to build a sustainable model that provides justice-impacted youth (ages 15-19) with the holistic support they need to truly thrive.

Speaking Opportunities

Interested in booking our CEO and Founder, Chad Houser, Momentum Executive or a Momentum Ambassador as a speaker for your next event? 

Please reach out to complete the form and we will be in touch shortly.

Recent News

Best New Restaurants 2023

Café Momentum came to Pittsburgh in March with a laudable mission. The restaurant’s front- and back-of-house staff consists of justice-involved and at-risk youths working a paid

Read More »