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 staff.
Its staff is at the forefront of this fine dining establishment because, unlike the surrounding businesses, or any other business in Pittsburgh, Cafe Momentum’s staff is made up of youth involved in the justice system.
Teenagers ages 15 to 19 can participate in a yearlong paid internship program at Cafe Momentum where they’ll learn all areas of the restaurant, legal employment, social skills and life skills.
“It’s an opportunity for our youth. So many are coming out of the justice system, and most of our young people have never experienced food that is fresh and good,” Executive Director Gene Walker said. “The other part of it is that this is education. We are going to teach how it’s made, where it comes from and what to do with it.”
About 12 to 20 interns will be involved in the Pittsburgh location. The program has been recruiting through different legal juvenile justice spaces such as Allegheny County Court, juvenile probation and the public defender’s office, Walker said.
“It’s not to create restaurant workers,” he said. “We’re teaching youth skills who can take these skills and go anywhere with them. This will create opportunities that they may not have because of how they look or where they come from.”
Walker, currently a Pittsburgh Public Schools director, heard about Cafe Momentum’s search for an executive director last year during his race for school board president. Previously, Walker worked at The Pittsburgh Promise, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting higher education.
“Serving youth is really my life’s passion, especially underserved youth who wouldn’t necessarily get these types of opportunities,” he said.
Cafe Momentum announced its planned Pittsburgh location in fall 2021. This is the second restaurant to open under the Cafe Momentum model after the Dallas location. A third is planned to launch later this year in Nashville, Tenn.
In 2008, Dallas chef Chad Houser had the opportunity to teach eight boys in juvenile detention how to make ice cream. This experience ultimately changed the course of his work, and in 2015, he opened Cafe Momentum’s flagship location.
“Ironically, one of our larger foundation heads was in Dallas and ate at the restaurant in Dallas,” Walker said. “[The foundation head] loved the idea and the concept and started a conversation about what it would look like to bring it here. It really coincided with our CEO’s vision of expanding the Cafe Momentum model nationwide.”
After the 12-month program, interns can apply to Cafe Momentum’s ambassador program that provides an opportunity to receive more professional development, media training and networking opportunities.
“They’re the best of kids who made mistakes,” Walker said of the ambassadors he’s met. “I tell them all that I’m really no different. The only difference between my situation and their situation is that I had an adult that was able to redirect me into a place that was much more productive and I didn’t make kind of that ultimate mistake that cost me time and life.”
Cafe Momentum aims to provide those adults who help redirect. By coming in at a critical point of their lives, Cafe Momentum can help guide youth to see a vision of themselves they don’t necessarily see, Walker said.
“We have high expectations so they know they can reach the highest success,” he said. “Our goal is just to get them in here to wrap our arms around them.”
According to Walker, data from the Dallas program shows that about 15% to 20% of the youth involved with Cafe Momentum re-offend. This is the reverse of national trends of about 80% of young people who re-offend.
Chef de cuisine Peter Henry said he doesn’t think other places have eateries quite like Cafe Momentum.
“I’ve opened up so many places in my career,” the California native said. “I’ve never opened up anything this special and a kitchen as unique and a program developed around every aspect this way.”
Once operating at full force, Cafe Momentum Pittsburgh will be open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m.
The restaurant’s focus is on minimizing waste and maximizing sustainability and locality through thoughtfully curated menus, according to Henry.
“I would describe the food scene in Pittsburgh as homey and welcoming in the best way,” the chef said. “Everything kind of warms your soul when you find that meal that you’re looking for, and that’s really the biggest thing that we’re trying to emulate here with the menu. Each of the dishes I call a love letter to different parts of Pittsburgh or different ideas.”
During their internship, students learn all the different stations required throughout the restaurant such as busser, host, server, grill cook, saute cook and pastry.
“There’s nothing that we’re going to do that we could buy [premade], and that’s what’s special about it,” Henry said. “I actually do think that meal services that are teaching people how to cook are a good service for our community.”
Both Henry and Walker emphasized that everything at Cafe Momentum revolves around education. The goal is to cultivate an interest in food for the youth.
Since October, Cafe Momentum Pittsburgh has been running a mini externship that leads into the full internship program. Two days a week, about a dozen students meet in the Downtown branch of Carnegie Library to learn about culinary basics and life skills from staff such as Henry.
The group has also gone on field trips to food businesses such as Millie’s and McCormick & Schmick’s to see how each operation runs.
Henry said the students are enthusiastic and constantly hungry to learn more.
“They’re like, ‘So what can you tell me about this food thing today?’ Because they know that I’ll have some weird piece of advice or knowledge about it, so I think that’s what they love the most,” he said. “We are very ready and so ready to start education and cooking.”
In the months leading up to the opening, the restaurant will focus on private and fundraising events as a soft launch to “let people come and see what Cafe Momentum is about,” Walker said.
“Unlike most nonprofits that you send money to, you don’t really see what’s happening,” he said. “Here, you get to experience it as often as you want. All you have to do is show up for dinner, and you get to hang out with our young people and see how amazing they are and then eat really good food as we go.”
So far, Cafe Momentum Pittsburgh has received about $1.7 million in grant money from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Allegheny Foundation with an additional $180,000 through local sources, individuals and businesses. Walker said another $400,000 to $500,000 is needed, which they hope to raise through their latest “Get the Doors Open” campaign.
Pre-launch dinners also allow the interns to get used to working in the restaurant.
“We just want to build the knowledge of what we’re doing, showcase it with our students, as we teach them, train them to be ready for March,” Henry explained. “We’re training them from the ground up in every aspect.”
Attached to the restaurant is a community/education center that is open to the teenagers even when the restaurant is closed. The center has shower facilities, on-site therapy services and other resources in an effort to provide every service and support network that interns may need.
“The space gives them a sanctuary, a safe place, a warm space,” Henry said. “Our goal is to teach them skills about life, not necessarily skills about culinary. If they learn to work as a team member, show up on time, communicate and set themselves up for success as well as ask for what they need, that’s a success.”
Allegheny County’s youth have been begging for something like Cafe Momentum, Walker said; it just hasn’t arrived until now.
“The reality is that the majority of our youth who end up getting in trouble isn’t doing it because they’re bad,” he explained. “They’re doing it because they’re trying to fill a need in their life, whether it be food or shelter or clothing or taking care of loved ones.
“We can really help take care of two crucial needs that most of our young people have. We can make sure that they’re fed — we make better decisions when we eat, all of us do — and then we can provide income. Until you get through the money and the food and the hunger, you don’t get to the other stuff.”
Hannah is a reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but she's currently on strike. Email her hwyman@unionprogress.com.
