In 1988, Café 458 opened in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood of Atlanta. It was the world’s first sit-down, reservation-only restaurant serving people experiencing homelessness.

Full-time volunteers staffed the Café and adjoining alcohol and drug Recovery Program, returning home nightly to live together in The Community of Hospitality house.

For decades, the Café and Recovery Program provided a relationship-centered, dignity-affirming space for people experiencing homelessness.

BACKGROUND: A Café table setting photographed in the early 1990s. HEADER: The Café 458 logo as printed on a fundraising envelope in the late 1980s.