What's Up, Doc?

5 reasons why you need to finally get a primary care doctor

Female doctor and patient checking blood pressure

Here's a reminder to go get a physical from your PCP.

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You have a cold, a sprain, or those seemingly ever-present Texas allergies — where do you go? Urgent care centers and "doc in a box" walk-in clinics (typically located in drug stores and grocery stores) are on practically every corner, but they may not be your best choice for treatment. It's time to get yourself a primary care physician (or PCP).

Don't have one? You should, and Methodist Family Health Centers has five excellent reasons why.

1. All your history, all in one place
Your PCP's office has your full medical records, meaning they know when you last battled bronchitis, if you're up to date on vaccines, and even if your weight or blood pressure have undergone any significant changes. Pre-existing conditions are also top of mind with your PCP, which in turn helps him or her deliver a more accurate diagnosis and treatment plan. At urgent care, you need to fill out a complete history each time you visit, as your records aren't kept for very long after you leave. If you're feeling rotten, the last thing you want to do is try to remember the date of your last tetanus shot.

2. Allergy alerts
Whether it's latex or penicillin, allergies are important — and sometimes even life-threatening. It's vital that the person treating you be aware if you have any. Visiting your PCP means not having to inform or remind anyone of these, but at urgent care it's the same as with your medical records: you're starting from square one.

3. Your time is valued
Urgent care and walk-in clinics function on a first-come, first-served basis. Yes, some now have apps where you can put your name on the wait list before you arrive, but you're still at the mercy of the other patients and the complexity of their conditions. If you're an established patient with your PCP, however, you'll get an actual appointment time and — depending on the severity of your illness — will most likely be seen at the earliest possible time.

4. Save some cash
It's hard to argue with basic math. Even with insurance, a visit to urgent care is likely to set you back a minimum of $150. If you need further tests or lab work, it's all billed separately on top of that, meaning you could be in for sticker shock when it comes time to check out. There's likely a reasonable co-pay to see your PCP, and labs are typically done in-house. Your PCP can also determine if you need a specialist, rather than only treating a base symptom and sending you on your way.

5. Stay ahead of sickness
How can you avoid all this? Get a physical every year. An important part of tracking your health is identifying potential issues before they become big problems, and seeing your PCP at least once a year for a physical is the best possible start. Ladies, your well woman exam is not the same as a physical, and gentlemen, it's crucial that you get checked out too. No one is invincible (not even you, millennials), so develop a relationship with your doctor to avoid health setbacks.

Want a PCP but don't know where to start? Get a list of general practitioners from your insurance, and identify several potential doctors who meet your own personal criteria (education, training, gender, board certification). A doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.) generally focuses on preventative care, while a doctor of medicine (M.D.) mainly treats existing conditions.

Before you call, map out the proximity of their office to your work or home, and decide which is more likely to be your starting point.

When you get someone on the phone, double-check to make sure the doctor accepts your insurance (websites can be out of date) and that they are accepting new patients. If you want one practice to treat your whole family, ask at what age the doctor starts seeing children.

More momentum

Cafe Momentum scales its mission with new East Dallas flagship

The exterior of the new two-story Cafe Momentum flagship center in East Dallas.

Rendering courtesy of Cafe Momentum.

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For over a decade, Cafe Momentum has served as more than just an acclaimed culinary destination in downtown Dallas; it has been a catalyst for kids impacted by the juvenile justice system.

What began as a bold idea has blossomed into a nationally recognized model for youth empowerment. Now, as the organization prepares to plant its roots in a new East Dallas flagship, the mission is poised to shift from a local success story into a high-speed blueprint for national change.

Cafe Momentum is building a new two-story, 11,000-square-foot center at 1000 Oak St. at Greenwood Street. The privately funded, $10 million project is scheduled to open in January 2027.

The new flagship will house the nonprofit's operations and training, as well as its popular restaurant that is open to the public. Regular diners will be glad to know they won't be making any major changes to the menu; it will remain seasonally driven. They might add a Wednesday night dinner offering, they say. And in welcome news, it will have a patio.

For the massive project, Cafe Momentum partnered with the Meadows Foundation, which provided a 0.8-acre plot in East Dallas. This partnership removes rental costs and places the new flagship in the Wilson Historic District on the Meadows Campus — a hub hosting 33 nonprofits. The structure is being built by Gordon Highlander.

A feast at Cafe Momentum.Photo by Samantha Marie

A mission with momentum
The idea behind Cafe Momentum started with Chef Chad Houser back in 2008. While serving as executive chef and co-owner of Parigi, Houser visited a juvenile detention center to teach young men how to make ice cream — an experience that deeply shifted his perception of incarcerated youth, he says. In 2011, he launched a series of pop-up dinners at various Dallas restaurants to test the non-profit restaurant model, eventually opening a permanent location at 1510 Pacific Ave. in January 2015.

Houser received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the James Beard Foundation in 2025.

Cafe Momentum’s mission is to transform lives by equipping justice-involved youth, aged 15 to 19, with life skills, education, and employment opportunities. Participants begin with a 12-month paid internship at the award-winning restaurant, rotating through every station to gain real-world experience and confidence. Because the program requires interns to be enrolled in school — and traditional environments rarely meet their needs — Cafe Momentum created an academy to help participants complete their high school degrees.

After 10 years downtown, the organization has outgrown its current footprint, its leaders say. While workforce development happens at the restaurant, the other three pillars — 24/7 case management, mental health, and education — are housed at a nearby community center in the Thanksgiving Square underground tunnels. Integrating all four pillars into a single flagship center with the restaurant and the community center both under the same space will streamline operations and deepen their impact, they say.

The restaurant will move from downtown to the new flagship in East Dallas.Rendering courtesy of Cafe Momentum.

The expansion extends far beyond North Texas. Cafe Momentum opened a second location in Pittsburgh in 2023, followed by Atlanta in 2025, and a Denver site is slated for January 2027. Houser notes that interest from other cities remains high as they continue their national trajectory.

The impact is even reaching other restaurant groups. The Kansas-based Thrive Restaurant Group studied the model and implemented it in seven of their Wichita locations. After hosting a pop-up with local community and government leaders to demonstrate what is possible, the framework proved so successful that they are now scaling to locations in North Carolina.

“Scaling for us is a two-fold goal: the opportunity to build our location and also to build a bigger conversation and show people what is possible,” Houser says. “If we can do this in a segment that is so marginalized, think about what we can do in the broader community.”

The data backs his ambition: nearly 95 percent of interns are making academic progress, and 100 percent now have bank accounts — enabling future access to credit — compared to just one in four at the start of the program. Additionally, 85 percent are in compliance with court orders, and over 75 percent receive consistent counseling.

Chad Houser of Cafe Momentum. Courtesy photo

Real-life success
Beyond the numbers, the results are most visible in the alumni. Lucciano, better known as “Lucci,” is currently a brand ambassador for Cafe Momentum and exemplifies the mission’s success. Lucci started his internship in 2022 with an incomplete 9th grade education, but a full dream of finishing school. He went on to earn his GED as valedictorian while working at the restaurant.

“I told Chad I needed the opportunity and promised I’d make the best of it. It’s been foot to the pedal since then,” Lucci says.

He even got the chance to assist with the new openings in Atlanta and Denver. Lucci admits he was acting as an ambassador long before he had the official title.

“Being a server, you have to know how to describe the program; it was practice talking to people. I was telling everybody about it, even my Uber driver on the way to work.," he says.

Stories like Lucci’s serve as motivation for the organization's future. With the success of the model proven through the lives of its alumni, Houser is now looking to continue their growth and community impact.

“Having this flagship center will allow us to go hyperdrive into what a national practice could look like for us,” Houser says. To refine this national vision, leadership has met with organizations like LeBron James’ I PROMISE Program and Brandon Edwin Chrostowski’s EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute, to learn from their practices.

In the decade since its first restaurant opening, Cafe Momentum has served over 1,300 interns in Dallas.

“What I am most proud of is where we are and how we are today,” Houser says. “Our growth is a direct reflection of an organization that was built by listening to the people we serve and responding to that.”

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