Café Augustine Receives Grant from Home Savings Foundation

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Café Augustine received a $50,000 grant from the Home Savings Charitable Foundation, which will be used to cover the restaurant’s operating costs.

The restaurant opened in the Newport Branch of the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County, 3730 Market St., in September.

Workers at the restaurant are between the ages of 16 and 24 who have been referred by churches, juvenile courts, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and other organizations. The purpose of Café Augustine, according to the Rev. Edward Brienz, the executive director, is to give the 60 workers the skills and work ethic necessary to hold down a permanent job.

“We wanted to create a program that would allow some of the underserved youth in the community to have an opportunity to participate in the local economy of Youngstown by way of a restaurant,” he said in a statement.

Employees work five-hour shifts and are paid minimum wage during their four-month tenure at Café Augustine.

“We’re very proud to be able to support Café Augustine. It’s the perfect complement of our organization,” said the foundation’s director Colleen Scott in a release. “Being able to be a part of this valuable program to see these young adults productively sharing their developing talents with opportunities to grow and prosper in Youngstown is truly what our foundation is all about.”

Pictured: Rev. Edward Brienz, executive director of the Cafe Augustine program.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.