Momentum Cafe Comes to Atlanta

Jassan Trotter, 16, is incredibly proud of his knife skills.

“I didn’t know how to cut properly,” Trotter says. “I was using my whole hand on the blade. You’re supposed to use your thumb and forefinger, and you cut more precisely that way.”

In addition to preparing vegetables, Trotter is learning skills like frying, pan-frying, and the art of service and hospitality through the nonprofit Cafe Momentum. The program provides youth ages 15 to 19 who have previously spent time in a juvenile detention center with restaurant training and hands-on learning for job opportunities. Founded by decorated chef Chad Houser in Dallas, the program has now expanded to Atlanta. Several pop-up dinners are in the works, where youth interns team up with restaurant staff to host dinner service; a physical Cafe Momentum is set to open downtown in November.

“Momentum Cafe is not just a restaurant, it’s a place where young people can reach their full potential,” said Stewart Williams, executive director of Momentum Cafe Atlanta. “Atlanta is a city of goodwill. People here work together to improve the human condition of their fellow Atlantans. Our justice-engaged youth deserve the same opportunities as everyone else.”

Gina Danals

Gunshow hosted its first Café Momentum pop-up dinner, called Momentum Rising, in June. The invitation-only event was led by 10 Café Momentum interns alongside the Gunshow team, who mentored the young men. Aspiring chef Trotter was one of the attendees.

“I was a little nervous at first,” says Trotter, who made fried eel that night. “I didn’t want to spill anything. I’d never done anything like this before. We all helped each other in the kitchen. If someone didn’t know how to do something, someone would come over and help them. We were like, ‘Let’s do it!’”

The program is a four-tiered system that lasts for one year. Interns are paid and earn pay increases as they progress through the tiers. At the final stage, they receive a Cafe Momentum chef jacket and resources for job opportunities.

According to the Justice Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, there were 1,089 youth in juvenile facilities in Georgia in 2020. Cafe Momentum hopes to recruit 60 to 80 teens per year in Atlanta, with planned outreach to local probation offices, juvenile detention centers and the Department of Juvenile Justice.

“(Detention centers) are just a revolving door, you see these kids coming in and out,” says Williams, who began his career as a counselor at a juvenile detention center in Newport, Virginia. The goal, he says, is to keep kids out of the facility, and educational opportunities are key to that. “We provide job training, financial literacy, banking support, and GED training on-site. It can really change a kid’s trajectory,” Williams says.

Gina Danals

Trotter says he hopes to become a chef someday. He wants to learn how to make pasta from scratch and discover all the different ways asparagus can be cooked. Trotter and the rest of the team will be cooking at the upcoming pop-up, scheduled for July 29 at White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails. Tickets are $75 per person, which includes appetizers and a three-course meal.

More pop-ups are planned for September and October, and the organization is currently looking for host restaurants. In anticipation of opening Café Momentum later this year, the team is hiring a chef and restaurant manager.

“If you want to help, come eat here,” Williams said. “People will be surprised by the quality of the food. Once you meet our youth and see the incredible work they do, you’ll see that they’re going to compete with the best of them.”