O’Doherty: Beard winner brings compassionate kitchen to Colorado

Aspen’s annual Food & Wine Classic isn’t just a festival — it’s a symphony of indulgence. This year, the flavors are as eclectic as they are elevated: a folk-fueled sandwich riot with New Orleans icon Turkey and the Wolf at Gravity Haus’ Boat Tow, and an invite-only private tasting at Sant Ambroeus, hosted by Morgan Stanley’s 2100 Group, where rare whiskey and investment insights swirl together in the Barretto Lounge.

But a few hours away in Denver, something is quietly simmering that deserves a place on the Aspen table: Café Momentum — a nonprofit restaurant that trains and employs justice-involved youth — is preparing to open its next location in Colorado’s capital. At the helm is Chad Houser, the Dallas chef-turned-social architect who’s redefining what it means to serve.

‘I just started bawling. I’m crying, and I’m laughing.’

When Houser received the call informing him that he had been named the 2025 James Beard Humanitarian of the Year, he broke down.

“I just started bawling,” he told me. “And (the woman on the line) started laughing. I said, ‘I’m crying, and I’m laughing.’ I felt like one of our interns who once told her case manager, ‘I don’t even know why I’m crying. I’m just so happy.’ I knew exactly how she felt.”

It was a moment nearly 30 years in the making. Houser built Café Momentum from a pop-up dinner concept into a full-blown movement that has helped over 1,200 young people reclaim their narratives. He didn’t do it for award. But this one matters — not just for him, but for every young intern who’s worn the chef’s whites instead of a jumpsuit.

‘The goal isn’t to keep putting Band-Aids on waterfalls.’

At the heart of Café Momentum is a capital idea: that kids who’ve been locked up deserve not just second chances — but meaningful, paid opportunities to succeed.

“We can’t build Café Momentums at the pace of Starbucks,” Houser said. “That just means we’re accepting the way the system is and trying to Band-Aid it. No — what we built in Dallas is a new system, a new model for juvenile justice.”

The model includes a full-service restaurant staffed by youth on probation or returning from incarceration. But it’s also 24/7 case management. Access to mental health care. Housing assistance. A chance to finish school. A paycheck. A purpose.

Denver is next. In early 2026, the organization will open its Colorado flagship in the Curtis Park Fire Station No. 10 — a space once used for emergency response, now redesigned to help young people respond to trauma, poverty, and the heavy weight of past mistakes.

“We’re raising human capital, financial capital, and social capital,” Houser said. “In Denver, in Houston, in Baltimore.”

That’s not a mission — it’s a movement.

‘You don’t know if your career is going to make it … and then you get that (Beard Foundation) call.’

Café Momentum’s growth is catching fire across the country — from Atlanta to Pittsburgh. In each city, community leaders are replicating Houser’s structure: kitchens that feed, train, and transform.

In Atlanta, that growth now includes a formal partnership with the NBA’s Hawks and State Farm Arena, where game-night features and culinary activations raise visibility and inspire fan support. The model could — and should — be replicated in Denver. With leaders like Bryan Leach, founder of Ibotta and a civic force in Colorado, the Nuggets and Ball Arena could become the next major platform for social change through food.

As one national partner from Stand Together Ventures Lab put it:

“Chad is one of the most outstanding social change entrepreneurs I have met. His Café Mo model has the ability to scale significantly and be a model for other restaurants to white label (much lower cost model).”

This isn’t charity. It’s infrastructure. And it belongs in every city that values justice and good food.

From Dallas to Denver to Baltimore

Café Momentum’s reach now spans far beyond Texas. In Baltimore, Houser is collaborating with Beth Blauer, Johns Hopkins University’s inaugural vice president for public impact initiatives, and Catholic Charities’ Bill McCarthy to bring the model’s healing approach to youth impacted by the justice system.

“It’s about more than just food,” Houser said. “It’s about healing.”

Meanwhile in Dallas, a $10 million capital campaign is halfway complete, building a new flagship that will serve as a national training ground for cities across the country to adopt the model — anchored in trauma-informed design, workforce development, and wraparound support.

A table for all in Colorado

As Aspen revels in its three-day tasting tour — from sandwiches that push the limits of culinary creativity to barware engraved with private equity initials — it’s worth asking: What’s the future of food?

Chad Houser has an answer. His model — rooted in trust, transformation, and flavor — is coming to Colorado. The next time Food & Wine rolls through Denver or Aspen, don’t be surprised if Café Momentum is on the menu.

Not because it’s trendy. But because it is a network of compassionate kitchens, where every taste delivers justice and opportunity.

Colorado has always been a place where brilliant ideas and bold flavors meet. Let’s make sure we set a table big enough for Café Momentum.

Damian O’Doherty the co-founder of KO Public Affairs — a proven, powerhouse of problem solvers — located across the U.S. Damian is a volunteer for Stand Together Ventures, a board member of Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club, and a volunteer dad for whatever Superintendent Mulberry needs. He’s lived in Pitkin County for almost a decade.