15 July 16 - 22, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents advocacy by connecting interns with advo- cates and other nonprofit organizations. The flagship is being built on land donated by the Meadows Foundation in the Wilson Historic District, which houses 35 other nonprofits on rent-free properties, including Hugs Cafe and Healthy Futures of Texas. Houser says that proximity will help Cafe Momentum secure more resources for interns. “The Meadows Foundation stepped up and said, ‘Look, we believe in you so much, we believe in the kids, we’re going to give you the land,’” he says. “Which I think is re- ally special and sets a precedent for future expansion, hopefully, but also I’m excited to see what comes of us being immersed in that ecosystem.” The $10 million flagship will span 11,000 square feet of operational, administrative and programmatic space. The expanded foot- print, complete with a private dining room, patio and indoor restaurant space, will allow the nonprofit to host more events and cook- ing classes similar to those interns led during the run-up to the Cotton Bowl in 2021. At the heart lies the kitchen, designed to accommodate two separate cooking islands and a dedicated prep area. More counter space will give kitchen staff leeway to exper- iment with new techniques. The Cafe Momentum Academy will also get more space. Schooling is required for interns, some of whom may have been away from the education system for a year or longer. Around 67% choose to enroll at the academy, where instruction is deliv- ered through online curriculum and in-person classes. Dr. Porshia Haymon, a licensed psycholo- gist and director of programming at Cafe Mo- mentum, said the new space has been built to allow a technology-adapted classroom to be split into separate spaces, enabling instruc- tors to lecture on multiple subjects to two groups of students concurrently. “It just allows us to better serve those young people, and more of the young people who need this education from us at the same time,” Haymon, also known by interns as Dr. P, says. “We’re not having to choose or put anyone on a wait list or anything like that.” Expanding the conversation Expansion, for Houser, isn’t just physical. He wants to broaden the scope of Cafe Momentum’s work, with an end goal of working himself out of a job, as he puts it. More space will help with that. He says he wants to begin offering GED programs for parents at the flagship and potentially host job fairs, both of which address underlying factors driving the need for his organization. “It’s great that our kids are getting their support, but if the same support is not being received at home, there’s a disconnect,” Houser says. “There’s still a level of anxiety that’s not been removed, a weight that hasn’t been lifted off of their shoulders.” Beyond its immediate impact on the Dal- las community, Houser says the new space will help elevate a national conversation about justice-affected youth. In 2025, an ice cream shop opened in Delaware, run by jus- tice-affected youth. The local ABC affiliate subsequently reported that Scoop on Loockerman drew inspiration from Cafe Momentum. “If we’re doing our job right, then we’re not putting Band-Aids on waterfalls,” he says. “We’re going upstream, and we’re get- ting to the root, and we’re understanding how our kids got to where they are.” ‘The kids we serve’ A decade into his mission, and despite the flow of awards and growth Cafe Momentum has earned, Houser is quick to hand credit to interns, staff and cities like Dallas for creat- ing that success. He’s still humble, and says it’s easy to stay grounded because, as he puts it, “I’m the absolute least important person in this whole thing.” Just as the people around him keep Houser grounded, he says his old friend’s biscuits provide consistency on an ev- er-changing menu. They are a common thread, he says, “grounding everything in the roots of the organization.” When asked what the metaphorical bis- cuits will be throughout the next decade of Cafe Momentum’s progression, he answers quickly — as if it’s obvious. “It will always be led by the kids we serve,” Houser says. “They built this and they continue to. We continue to listen, we continue to learn, we continue to move and pivot and shape and reshape and think and rethink based on what we’re learning from them.” Cafe Momentum will remain downtown before moving to its new location in 2027. SCAN HERE TO ENTER TO WIN 2 TICKETS
