If you’ve visited the DC Central Kitchen Cafe at the Klein Center for Jobs & Justice, you’ve probably seen Antonio. One of our cafe’s two managers, Antonio has been serving customers at DCCK’s headquarters since it opened in March of 2023. While he’s been a steadfast member of the staff, Antonio’s journey to a leadership role hasn’t been a straight line.
Antonio first came to DC Central Kitchen to learn about Culinary Job Training (CJT) program in 2018, but he says he wasn’t ready to change, not yet. After being incarcerated for more than 15 years, he knew he had to be ready to make the most of his second chance as a returning citizen. About a year after his first exploratory trip to the Kitchen, Antonio decided the time was right to begin his DCCK journey as part of CJT’s 118th Class. He hasn’t looked back.
One of the biggest ways Antonio says he has evolved since starting the CJT program is his mindset. “I don’t think the way I used to think or do the things I used to do. I had an opportunity, and I took advantage of it,” he shares. “Without this opportunity, I don’t know if I would have made that change.”
Antonio made the most of the opportunity, too. Upon graduating in November 2019, he joined DC Central Kitchen as a full-time member of the culinary production team. “DC Central Kitchen gave me an opportunity, but I still had to put my foot forward, come in and learn what I can learn,” Antonio says. “I haven’t looked back. It changed my life tremendously.”
A few months after he began his new life at the Kitchen, the onset of COVID-19 changed everything. Antonio was still acclimating to his new job when much of the rest of DC shut down. But DC Central Kitchen didn’t, and neither did he. Through it all, Antonio never missed a day of work through the pandemic, showing up to our then-headquarters in the windowless basement of the Federal City Shelter on 2nd Street.
As DC Central Kitchen entered a new chapter with the opening of the Klein Center, so has Antonio. The differences between our new home and our former home, are extremely evident. “We’ve got more windows and everything here feels just like a fresh new beginning,” he says. In spring of 2023, Antonio shifted his focus from producing a few thousand meals a day to managing our newest location of DC Central Kitchen’s social enterprise cafes.
Now that he is part of the organization’s leadership team, we asked Antonio what advice he gives to staff and students who are on their own unique DC Central Kitchen journeys. “First and foremost, I tell them, what you’re putting in is what you’re going to get out. Don’t listen to all the foolish [outside] chatter. Experience it yourself.”
In addition to mentoring new staff and providing hands-on training for our culinary students, he’s also an advocate for the CJT program among others facing similar barriers to employment and lasting success. “I just brought a guy down here today,” Antonio tells us. “I’m passing the word on to him, because there are a lot of guys out there that just need that extra push. And I’m trying to push him.”
Antonio is different than he was five years ago when he came to DC Central Kitchen. He’s a CJT graduate, a manager, a mentor, and a dedicated colleague who has helped our community through some of its darkest times. “They see the transformation in me,” says Antonio of his colleagues and loved ones.
Right outside the CJT classroom at the Klein Center is the Community Pillar where we pay tribute to individuals and groups who have made a significant impact on the history and success of DCCK. Employees are added to the Pillar when they reach 10 years of service. It wouldn’t be surprising to anyone at the Kitchen if Antonio’s name ends up there one day.
“I told [DCCK CEO Mike Curtin] that I wanted maybe do a year or another year,” Antonio shares. “He was like, ‘Why not five years? Get to 10 years, get your name up on the pillar.’ So, I’ll be around as long as DC Central Kitchen allows me to do that.”
Believe us. We’ll be alongside our friend and leader Antonio every step of the way.