It’s easy to smile at new Dallas restaurant Hugs Cafe. Everyone else is!
Most of the employees inside this happy breakfast and lunch spot are individuals with disabilities. Hugs’ chefs, like Dallas resident Meshia Brown, are taught knife skills and pastry skills. Hosts like Natalie Perez learn warm hospitality and customer service.
“We exist so that every person can have professional and personal success,” said Lauren Smith, Hugs Cafe’s executive director.
The nonprofit serves food in a rent-free building gifted from the Meadows Foundation, a private charitable organization that has created a feel-good community on 22 acres off Live Oak Street, near downtown Dallas. Hugs is neighbors with the coming-soon headquarters for Cafe Momentum, another restaurant nonprofit in Dallas that employs teenagers who have exited the juvenile justice system.
Restaurant News
Related
Simone, a Hugs Cafe employee, takes an order at the new Dallas restaurant.
Azul Sordo / Staff Photographer
Hugs provides “purpose, meaning and a paycheck,” said Ruth Thompson, founder and president.
The goal is inclusion.
“You can come support us for the mission,” said Diana Zamora, a Dallas chef and culinary trainer, “but I also want you to come here for the food.”
Hugs Cafe is now open in Dallas
View Gallery
Not sure what to order? Just ask. The Chickie Hug, a cranberry chicken salad sandwich, was a favorite from the cashier. Brown loves the Reuben. The Peach Gobbler — a turkey sandwich with peach chutney — tops Zamora’s list.
For breakfast, Hugs sells classic egg dishes, breakfast burritos and more. Any time of day, its wedding cake cookie and cherry-almond jam are popular takeaway items, Smith said.
The Dallas restaurant also sells White Rhino coffee.
As Hugs opens in a crowded food-and-beverage market in Dallas, it will look to the community for support, Smith said. Beyond day-to-day breakfast and lunch, Hugs sells catered boxed lunches for corporate events in the downtown Dallas and East Dallas area. Clients can know their food was made by a trained chef learning meaningful work in the restaurant industry.
“We place no limitations on them,” Zamora said.
Hugs across Dallas-Fort Worth
The original Hugs Cafe opened in McKinney in 2015, and it remains there today.
Hugs Cafe Executive Director Lauren Smith speaks at the grand opening of a new Hugs Cafe in Dallas on Dec. 8, 2025.
Azul Sordo / Staff Photographer
The group is fundraising for a 13,000 square-foot headquarters in McKinney to provide more training and employment opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Hugs has raised $9.1 million towards a $10 million goal.
The Dallas expansion signals the first in an eventual series, Smith said. She hopes to open other locations to help more adults with special needs seeking jobs.
As Brown finished her first lunch shift making sandwiches, she noted the “friendly and generous” atmosphere in the Hugs kitchen.
She ended the day with a smile, prepared to come back for another busy shift soon.
“I feel happy,” she said.
Hugs Cafe is at 2918 Live Oak St., Dallas. Open for breakfast and lunch six days a week. Closed Sundays.
The original Hugs Cafe remains at 224 E. Virginia St. Open for breakfast and lunch six days a week. Closed Sundays.