Cafe Momentum Arrives in Atlanta

In an update to this report published on July 12, 2024, Cafe Momentum is now open in Downtown Atlanta.

Sixteen-year-old Jassan is incredibly proud of his knife skills.

“I didn’t know how to cut right,” says Jassan. “I would use my whole hand on the blade. You’re supposed to use your thumb and the pointer finger, and then you cut through things more precise.”

In addition to vegetable prep, Jassan is learning skills like frying and sauteing, as well as the art of service and hospitality, as a part of the nonprofit Cafe Momentum. The program equips 15 to 19-year-olds who have previously spent time in a juvenile detention center with restaurant education and practical learning for employment opportunities.

Founded by decorated chef Chad Houser in Dallas, the program has now expanded to Atlanta. After multiple pop-up dinners around the city, where the young interns teamed up with restaurant staff to put on a dinner service, a brick-and-mortar Cafe Momentum is now open Downtown at 200 Peachtree Street Northwest. James Beard nominated chef de cuisine Joshua Lee leads the kitchen, serving a menu of Southern American dishes like deviled eggs, lobster beignets, smoked fried chicken with braised greens, shrimp and grits, and brown butter poached sea bass with seasonal vegetables. The interns involved with the justice system are the staff.

“We’re excited to officially open our doors to the public and share Cafe Momentum’s model with the Atlanta community,” says Benjamin Wills, executive director of Cafe Momentum Atlanta. “These incredible young people have worked tirelessly to make this opening possible, and we hope other justice-involved youth are inspired by what’s possible when your community stands behind you and believes in you.”

Gina Danals

Gunshow hosted its first Cafe Momentum pop-up dinner, called Momentum Rising, in June. The invite-only event was led by 10 interns from the Cafe Momentum program alongside the Gunshow team, who mentored the young men. Budding chef Jassan was one of the participants.

“At first, I was kinda nervous,” says Jassan, who made fried eel that night. “I didn’t want to knock anything over. I never did anything like that before. We were all helping each other in the kitchen. If someone didn’t know how to do something someone would come in and help. We were like, ‘let’s get this done.’”

The program is a yearlong four-tiered system — the interns get paid and earn pay bumps as they climb the tiers. On their final stage, they receive a Cafe Momentum chef’s coat and resources for employment opportunities.

According to the Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, there were 1,089 young people held in a juvenile facility in Georgia in 2020. Cafe Momentum is hoping to recruit 60 to 80 teenagers a year in Atlanta, with outreach planned at local probation offices, juvenile detention centers, and the Department of Juvenile Justice.

“[Detention centers] are just a revolving door, you’re watching these young people come in and out,” says Stewart Williams, the former executive director of Cafe Momentum Atlanta, who began his career as a counselor at a juvenile detention center in Newport, Virginia. He says keeping the young people from coming back into these facilities is the goal and educational opportunities are the key to making that happen. “We offer workforce training, financial literacy, banking support, and education for GED on-site. It can really change the trajectory of a young person,” says Williams.

Gina Danals

Jassan says he hopes to be a chef one day. He wants to learn how to make pasta from scratch and figure out how many ways there are to cook asparagus. Jassan and the rest of the team cooked at a sold-out pop-up at White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails in July, with passed hors d’oeuvres and a three-course meal.

“If you want to help, come and eat here,” says Williams. “People will be surprised with the caliber of food. Once you meet our young people and see the amazing job they do, you’ll see they’re going to compete among the best of them.”

Cafe Momentum is open Thursday to Saturday, 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Reservations are now available.

In an update to this report published on July 12, 2024, Cafe Momentum is now open in Downtown Atlanta.