"It's a magic place," says Eric Nadel, the voice of the Texas Rangers who has hosted the Sunday Supper shows since its inception. "Chad Houser, the founder [of Café Momentum], asked me back in 2017 to put together some sort of concert series and came up with the idea of Sunday Supper."
The Sunday Supper concert series pairs the fine dining experience fueled by its hard-working staff — who receive comprehensive training in the restaurant industry and help attain their high school diplomas — and some of the best musicians in Dallas. Next month, the Sunday Supper series will hold its 50th show.
"We decided to go outside of our budget range," Nadel says. "We decided to book the Quebe Sisters."
The country swing string trio will headline the next Sunday Supper show on Sunday, July 23. Guests who purchase a ticket will gain access to an exclusive concert at Café Momentum and enjoy a three-course plated meal designed by and paired with its headliner.
Café Momentum's Sunday Supper series pairs live music with a three-course dinner menu designed by the headlining musicians. Last month's concert with Max Gomez offered a sweet tea-brined pork chop with yellow cheddar grits and ancho chile.
Chad Windham Photography
Nadel says Houser came up with the idea for "the traditional Sunday supper" concept by pairing it with music. Nadel also hosts an annual Birthday Benefit concert in May at The Kessler to raise money for the Grant Halliburton Foundation, the nonprofit group that aims to strength mental health access and awareness for children, teens and young adults. Last May's concert raised around $100,000 in donations.
The Sunday Supper shows bring musicians from Dallas and beyond to play on the restaurant's stage — such as outlaw country singer Nathan Mongol Wells, Grammy-winning singer Bonnie Bishop and the multi-genre Seth Walker Trio.
Nadel says almost every show has sold out and that even though every penny goes toward the nonprofit, it's more about bringing people to the restaurant to show them the work the staff is doing. Between 4,000 and 5,000 people have attended the show series in the last six years.
"It brings a lot of awareness to the restaurant," Nadel says. "There's a lot of people who attend these shows and I always ask, 'Have you ever been to Café Momentum before?' and almost half have never been there before."
More than 1,200 young people ages 15–19 have benefited from the efforts of Café Momentum in Dallas. Right now, the program has 30 teenagers and young adults who are learning how to run every aspect of the restaurant. This year's series is turning out to be one of the most successful so far, and the group recently announced that Amazon is sponsoring the shows for 2023.
"That helps to cover entertainment costs and things like that because we do pay the musicians as well as AV tech and food costs," says Café Momentum marketing and events manager Laura Beth Lopez. "Their sponsorship helps to cover all of that and everything that goes into putting on a dinner and a show. Everything we take in goes back to how we support our youth."
Nadel says he enjoys planning and hosting the Sunday Supper series. It's even more special to him now at this time in his life. Nadel and the Texas Rangers said in March in a released statement that he needed to take some personal time away from the broadcasting booth to seek help for his anxiety, insomnia and depression, "which are currently preventing me from doing the job I love."
"I'm getting better," Nadel says. "I still don't have a timeline on when I'll come back. I miss it a lot and one thing these shows have done is allowed me to get out there and meet with people and enjoy live music."
