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 ages 15 to 19 who have spent time in the juvenile justice system.
Texas-based restaurateur Chad Houser opened Café Momentum’s flagship location in Dallas, Texas, in 2015. The nonprofit restaurant was established to provide youth leaving the juvenile detention system with support and an opportunity to succeed while holistically addressing barriers that “had previously pushed them into a path to detention,” Houser said.
“It proves to every guest that walks into the restaurant, but also the staff, that they can and will rise to whatever level of expectation is set for them,” Houser said. “As long as we provide them with the tools and resources and opportunities to do so.”
Credit: Courtesy of Stand Together
Credit: Courtesy of Stand Together
For at least a year, the interns rotate through every front- and back-of-house role in the restaurant while learning the requisite skills for each position. They simultaneously participate in “tiers of success” where they accomplish different actions like receiving a government-issued ID, setting up a bank account and enrolling in school. As they complete the various tiers, they earn hourly raises and move toward graduation.
While the program is set up to be completed in a year, interns have the option to start over as many times as they need, Houser said.
“It’s about our young person understanding what it feels like to have a team that’s saying, ‘We’re going to do our best to put you in position to be your best.’ And that’s why we’re more than just a restaurant,” he said. “That’s why we focus on that ecosystem of support.”
Credit: Courtesy of Cafe Momentum
Credit: Courtesy of Cafe Momentum
Last week, Houser and Atlanta rapper and social activist Killer Mike visited a group of adolescents at the Rockdale Youth Regional Detention Center. During their visit, they showed the teens a documentary on Café Momentum to spread the word about its impending arrival in Atlanta in 2024. Besides Dallas, it also operates in Nashville and Pittsburgh.
When deciding on Atlanta as a new location, Houser said they looked at a variety of factors, including the state of the city’s food scene and the number of youths entering the criminal justice system. Georgia’s Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is responsible for an average daily population of just under 1,000 children in 25 facilities across the state, according to data from the department’s 2022 annual report.
For the Atlanta location, Café Momentum plans to accept between 60 and 80 youths a year for the first few years with the goal of expanding to 100. Houser said that he hasn’t solidified a space for the restaurant yet, but is looking for a location downtown. For now, they’re fundraising to meet a $4 million target, which will provide enough money to construct the space and give them six to eight months of funding to ensure the restaurant’s success.
As for the menu, not much is solidified yet, but like the Café Momentum locations in other cities, it will be chef-driven with most everything made from scratch and sourced locally. One dish is common across all Café Momentum locations: smoked fried chicken with collared greens, mashed potatoes, cream gravy and a biscuit. This plate consistently outsells every other menu item.
Credit: Courtesy of Stand Together
Credit: Courtesy of Stand Together
The program has served more than 1,000 interns since opening eight years ago, according to the Momentum Advisory Collective, parent organization for Café Momentum.
Tristyn Williams is a former intern who has since become a Café Momentum ambassador. Williams heard about the program at school from another intern in 2019. At the time, she was 15 years old, pregnant and had just been released from juvenile detention for the second time. She needed a job but was worried no one would hire her.
She decided to give Café Momentum a chance and right away they stepped in to help meet her immediate needs, she said, including by throwing her a baby shower.
During her time at Café Momentum, she rediscovered a passion for baking and was given more “creative freedom” in the kitchen.
“I feel like that opened a gateway for me to explore more about myself,” Williams said. “I just feel like if I could do anything in the kitchen, I could do anything in my personal life as well.”
Credit: Courtesy of Stand Together
Credit: Courtesy of Stand Together
A tenant of the program is to teach the interns to appreciate their strengths, Houser said. Even if they aren’t interested in continuing in the restaurant industry, they learn skills that will help them in future careers, like communicating with coworkers and customers and being part of a team, Houser explained.
Williams said the program gave her ideas for a new career path. She graduated in 2021, and in her role as a Café Momentum ambassador she helps spread awareness about the restaurant, mentors future interns and assists with Café Momentum’s expansion into new cities. She hopes to find a permanent position with the Momentum Advisory Collective so she can continue helping other youths and play a larger role in expanding the program. Already, the ambassador role has enabled her to share her story in front of large crowds, help kickstart the Pittsburgh and Atlanta restaurants and even go to the Super Bowl twice.
“It feels empowering to know that my struggle and my healing can do so much to create a change,” Williams said.
Café Momentum. 214-303-1234, cafemomentum.org.
About the Author
