16 June 15 - 21, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents relative comfort at his upscale restaurant, or sell it all and start something new. M ore than 60,000 juveniles sit in jails on any given day in the U.S., accord- ing to the American Civil Liberties Union. Each year in Texas more than 50,000 youth are arrested or referred to probation. According to a 2021 Dallas County annual report, 1,434 Dallas youths were admitted to a Dallas County Juvenile Department detention center. The Hogg Foundation at The University of Texas reports that recidivism rates for young people are as high as 75% within three years after confinement at a juvenile justice facility. The most common offenses are low-level. In Texas, 59% of juvenile arrests are for non- violent offenses like larceny, motor vehicle theft, running away from home, alcohol and drug violations, curfew violations and loiter- ing. Fewer than 6% of juvenile arrests in Texas are for serious offenses like aggra- vated assault, robbery, rape or murder. Houser founded Café Momentum in 2015 and it has since been lauded as one of the best restaurants in the city. But it primar- ily serves as a nonprofit that has, to date, helped more than 1,200 “justice-involved” young people. The team at Café Momentum works in tandem with juvenile justice offi- cials and other community partners. While restaurant staffers teach them how to work in a kitchen, case managers address urgent basic needs and work through issues like anger management, trauma recovery, fa- therlessness and abandonment. A commu- nity service center extends the nonprofit’s reach beyond the restaurant: It’s a safe place for interns to study, connect with others and recharge. Volunteers help with tutoring, and they provide life-skills workshops. At the restaurant, interns run both the front and back of the house, but the adults in the room always keep a close eye on every- thing. Last names aren’t used and questions about pasts are discouraged. An intern’s past is closely protected, and the goal is to be al- ways looking forward. The service and food at Cafe Momentum lean toward fine dining, but the vibe is more like a communal kitchen. Hand-painted plates decorated by interns line a bright green wall. The thick mac and cheese might be some of the best in the city. Most diners start with a basketful of fresh baked bread. The menu is Southern comfort dishes like smoked fried chicken served over a mound of mashed potatoes with a homemade bis- cuit atop it like a crown. Fresh greens are cooked to a magical sweet spot; neither un- der- nor overdone. There’s no sacrifice here in terms of eating out and doing good. The Stand Together Foundation is a philan- thropic community that invests in other non- profits that deal with major societal problems. Stand Together infused $1.9 million into Café Momentum, allowing Houser and his team in 2020 to launch Momentum Advisory, a parent organization of Café Momentum with a goal of spreading this disruptive approach to juvenile justice systems across the country. The new mission is to open restaurants based on the Dallas flagship in other cities. A Café Momentum in Pittsburgh opened March 1, and one in Nashville is set to open later this year. Next year it’s Atlanta, then Denver and Houston the following year. Bal- timore and Boston are on the radar. On its website, Stand Together shares the story of another intern at Café Momentum, Abillyon. On the morning of his probation hearing, he’d prepared a written plea and he was ready to deliver it to the judge. He’d been a part of the internship program at Café Momentum in Dallas, but had left and was back in court. Abillyon had been a good kid in junior high, but after his grandfather died he started hanging out with a tough crowd. In high school, he stole cars and broke into homes. That morning, he was expecting to see only his grandmother in the courtroom. Abillyon didn’t need to read his state- ment. Houser was there that day, sitting next to Abillyon’s grandmother, to testify on his behalf. Houser told the judge he believed that instead of returning to a facility, Abil- lyon should be allowed to come back to Café Momentum (even though it is not techni- cally a “diversion program”). He told the judge he could see the teen’s potential. Abillyon was released that day. He even- tually graduated from the internship pro- gram, got his high school diploma, has enrolled in college and is an ambassador for Café Momentum. Kathy Tran Restaurant program manager Tyreesh Browning, service training manager Conner Boyett, and chef Aaron Collins discuss a white fish dish. Café Momentum from p15
