Café Momentum, the 10-year-old nonprofit restaurant and internship program, broke ground Thursday on a new flagship location in Dallas and launched a $10 million capital campaign.
The Dallas-based nonprofit restaurant broke ground in the Meadows Foundation-funded Wilson Historic District. It is expected to open in 2026.
A spokesperson said the original location in downtown Dallas will close when the new, larger space opens. The new location will cover nearly 12,000 square feet, and Café Momentum is expected to serve 120 interns each year, up from the current 80 to 100 interns.
Café Momentum said the expanded footprint will aid programming to help those in the justice system. The flagship will provide interns with expanded resources, including mental health services, educational support, and workforce training.
Café Momentum plans to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Atlanta in March 2025 and another in Denver in late 2025 or early 2026. Café Momentum Nashville became Pathways Kitchen in August 2024.
Café Momentum was founded in 2015 by Chad Houser, CEO of the organization, to provide paid internships to justice-involved youth ages 15-19.
At the ground-breaking, Houser said: “All youth deserve to dream. But for kids who have been involved in the juvenile justice system, that dream often stops before it can even begin. At Café Momentum, we believe all youth deserve to dream without limits.”
The Meadows Foundation donated land in the Wilson Historic District to Café Momentum, which is supported by the Stand Together Foundation.
“Since 2015, we have walked alongside justice-involved youth, providing them with the tools, resources, and opportunities to rise beyond their past and step into a future full of possibility,” Houser said. “Today, we take that commitment even further, unveiling a $10 million capital campaign to build the Café Momentum Flagship—a permanent home where young people can dream beyond limits. Because when we believe in them, there is no limit to what they can achieve.”
Launched in Dallas in 2015, Café Momentum has expanded to Pittsburgh and Atlanta.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]
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