GuidesArch CityHome & StyleDiningFeaturesWeddingsLegals
The Story Behind Freedom a la Cart’s new Downtown Café
The nonprofit begins a new chapter at its gathering space and Downtown café, which opens to the public April 5.
By Jill Moorhead
Mandie Matthews loves making barbecue pork tacos for her friends and family and takes joy in inviting them into her home to gather around food. But “home” hasn’t always come easy for her.
Matthews was 19 and working as a business banker when her friend’s boyfriend placed them both on a classified website for escorts. Speaking in a February interview, Matthews says she made good money as an escort and felt glamorous. She didn’t think it was a problem, until it was. She got into harder drugs and started “working the block, getting in and out of cars.” She lost everything, including custody of her son.