• December 13, 2023 | Atlanta

  A nonprofit restaurant employing justice-involved youth is coming to Atlanta

  By Olivia Wakim A new restaurant coming to Atlanta next year will serve casual fine dining food and a new approach to juvenile justice. Café Momentum will be staffed entirely by metro Atlanta teenagers ages15 to19 who have spent time in the juvenile justice system. Texas-based restaurateur Chad Houser opened Café Momentum’s flagship location in […]

• August 28, 2023 | Pittsburgh

  Best Chefs in Pittsburgh: Peter Henry’s Impactful Culinary History Continues at Cafe Momentum

  By Olivia Miller One of the first things that Chef Peter Henry said to me while showing me Cafe Momentum’s indoor edible flower garden, a baseball cap reading “create change” perched upon his head, was “I don’t like to waste.” As we got to talking, it became apparent that this was true for not only […]

• July 6, 2023 | Pittsburgh

  ‘Not just a job’: Pittsburgh-area teens gain a sense of calm and confidence at Cafe Momentum

  One of newest fine-dining establishments in Downtown Pittsburgh, Café Momentum is more than a restaurant: Most of the 25 teenagers it employs have been involved in the juvenile justice system. Café Momentum provides them with yearlong, paid internships in an effort to set them on a new path and stop the cycle of incarceration. For […]

• March 21, 2023 | Dallas

  The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Honors Cafe Momentum Founder Chad Houser With the Judith Horgan Award for Exemplary Service

  DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / March 21, 2023 / The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) is honoring Café Momentum founder Chad Houser for his service to justice-involved youth at the NCJFCJ’s National Conference on Juvenile Justice held in Addison, Texas, on March 21, 2023. He will receive the second annual Judith […]

• February 13, 2023 | Pittsburgh

  Getting started: Cafe Momentum Pittsburgh aims to give youth more than a job

  Gene Walker knows the road to success has many stops and starts. Consider his path to become executive director of Cafe Momentum Pittsburgh, the soon-to-open nonprofit restaurant and professional training facility in Downtown that gives juvenile offenders a second chance. The East Liberty native graduated from Peabody High School and studied accounting at Bloomsburg University. […]

• February 8, 2023 | Dallas

  Shaun Alexander on Eagles’ offense, Ken Walker’s season

  Former Seahawks RB and fantasy football legend Shaun Alexander joins Jay Croucher and Matthew Berry on Radio Row to discuss the Eagles’ offense. https://www.usanetwork.com/fantasy-football-happy-hour/video/fantasy-legend-shaun-alexander-on-eagles-rbs-ken-walker-with-matthew-berry/nbc_hhmb_alexanderintv2_230208

• January 26, 2023 | Pittsburgh

  Teaching kids to play with knives and fire, Cafe Momentum’s Pittsburgh location set to open in March

  “New among the Mexican chain restaurants, locally loved sandwich sellers and bustling bars, a new eatery is set to open its doors in early March in Downtown’s Market Square. Located at 268 Forbes Ave., Cafe Momentum’s restaurant and community center are accessible by nearly every bus line, a factor that the restaurant prioritized for its […]

• November 17, 2022 | Nashville

  Cafe Momentum restaurant coming to Nashville in 2023; how it’s already changing lives of justice-involved youth

  by: Sierra Rains NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — On any given day, Cameron Carver might be found preparing braised short ribs or pan-roasted scallops for people dinning in downtown Nashville; but four years ago, his life looked very different. At the age of 15, Carver said he dropped out of school to take care of his mother […]

• October 20, 2022 | Nashville

  Edible Nashville Fall Farm Dinner helping teens cook up a better future

  FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — Edible Nashville is hosting its Fall Farm Dinner benefit Friday and Saturday and tickets are still available. The dinner is held three times a year, celebrating local farms and benefiting a different nonprofit. This weekend’s dinner will benefit Cafe Momentum, a program that trains young people who have been through the […]

• October 20, 2022 | Dallas

  Southern Smoke brings together top chefs for their three-day festival this weekend

  HOUSTON — Chris Shepherd‘s Southern Smoke Festival takes place this Friday through Sunday, with the country’s best chefs, live music, tastiest food, and fantastic wine, beer, and cocktails. The three-day event will raise funds and awareness for food and beverage workers in crisis nationwide. For more information, including purchasing tickets that go to a great […]

• October 20, 2022 | Pittsburgh

  Changing Lives Through Culinary Skills

  Café Momentum comes to Pittsburgh to help young people move from the criminal-justice system to self-sufficiency. TRISTYN WILLIAMS was 15, pregnant and living in a juvenile rehabilitation center in Texas. The world was closing in on her, and there seemed to be no way forward. She was also haunted by a judge’s warning that if […]

• October 11, 2022 | Nashville

  Hidden Pearls Podcast – Cafe Momentum – Chad Houser with Emma & Bruce Kittle

  In this episode, we go deep into an exploration of how a successful Executive Chef, with over 17 years in the food industry and who had achieved his own dream of owning a 5 Star restaurant, had an awakening while working with some kids in a local juvenile justice center teaching them how to make […]