• March 29, 2024 | Dallas

  Cafe Momentum brings its support of formerly incarcerated youth to new location

  The nonprofit organization helps at-risk teenagers transition to life post-detention through restaurant work and will be serving food at the Super Bowl this weekend. Read more here.

• March 29, 2024 | Dallas

  Mike Rowe podcast: Give the Children Knives and Fire (Ep. 301)

  In 2008, Chad Houser was nominated as the best up-and-coming chef in Dallas. Had he stayed on that track, he’d probably have a show on the Food Network today, and a talent deal to rival Bobby Flay and Gordon Ramsay. But Chad didn’t stay on that track. Instead, he taught a group of incarcerated kids […]

• March 11, 2024 | Pittsburgh

  A Restaurant Unlike Any Other: A Unique Opportunity for Youth

  When you think about taking your family or friends or staff out to eat, my guess is you aren’t thinking about how to solve one of our communities’ biggest social issues. By the end of this year, that will change, when Café Momentum Pittsburgh opens on Forbes Avenue downtown. It’s not news that our juvenile […]

• March 6, 2024 | Pittsburgh

  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 12-month internship developed to guide them through the full spectrum of hospitality industry skills. They are offered classes and mentorship, and they’re paired with case managers to assist them with […]

• 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 […]

• August 2, 2023 | Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Pittsburgh

  Restaurant Doubles as a Nonprofit to Mentor, Train Yustice-Involved Youth

  A Dallas restaurant that doubles as a nonprofit professional training facility for kids impacted by the juvenile justice system is a living example of its motto, “Eat, drink, change lives.” Chad Houser, owner of Café Momentum, told “Good Morning America” he created “a movement to change the model for youth justice.” “This team is here to make […]

• 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 […]