PETE HENDERSON, IN FRONT OF HIS RESTAURANT, CHACE’S CAFE, ON E. CARSON STREET.
(PHOTO BY ROB TAYLOR JR.)
Pete Henderson made that vow, renaming his restaurant, ‘Chace’s Cafe’
by Naomi C. Ilochi
For New Pittsburgh Courier
The love of a father transcends time.
Pete Henderson, owner of Chace’s Cafe on the South Side, has created community, cuisine and comfort one breakfast platter at a time. But for him, what’s most important, is fatherhood.
In 1978, Henderson attended Brashear High School where he would begin his pursuit in the restaurant industry at just 13 or 14 years old at the infamous “Eddie’s Restaurant,” once located on Wylie Avenue in the Hill District. Henderson learned how to cook from owner Eddie Owens, igniting his love for cooking.
Eddie’s was the launchpad for Henderson’s career; Henderson would go on to work in many big restaurants around the city, like “The Original Hotdog.” Sydney “Syd” Simon was the owner of The Original Hotdog shop in Oakland at the time, and he taught Henderson a great deal about the industry. Much of Henderson’s education pertaining to the restaurant industry came from the different owners he worked for throughout the years.
“I would change jobs a lot,” Henderson, 61, told the New Pittsburgh Courier. “I said, ‘I’m not going to keep doing this, I need to start my own.'”
In the late ’90s, Henderson began cooking in restaurants, bars and nightclubs where it was his duty to man the kitchen and create his own menus. People loved Henderson’s food, and he did fairly well at it.
In 1998, he got a gig at the famous “Cotton Club,” a bar and restaurant formerly located on Webster Avenue in the Hill District. It was exactly what Henderson was looking for at the time. Eventually, the Cotton Club closed, but Henderson acquired the entity and turned it into primarily a restaurant.
On July 9, 2002, the joy of his life, Chace, was born. Chace C.W. Jones Henderson was born healthy, with no complications. At the same time, Henderson was running the restaurant at the Cotton Club, which was doing very well.
Everything changed in a matter of weeks.
In August 2002, Henderson received an unforgettable phone call — his 2-month-old son, Chace, was no longer breathing.
Henderson dropped everything to make his way to UPMC Children’s Hospital where he saw numerous medical professionals providing his son with support. It was a sight he had never seen before being performed on a child.
“I’ve never seen three or four people bumping on a little baby at one time,” Henderson told the Courier.
Henderson later learned that Chace suffered from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
Chace’s parents were advised by a Chaplain to pray for Chace. That’s what his parents, Henderson and Andrea Jones, did. Nearly an hour went by. Then the nurse rushed in to the parents.
“She ran in and said, ‘We have a pulse, we have a pulse. By no means are we saying anything but we have a pulse.'”
When Henderson and Chace finally laid eyes upon each other, the connection was immediate. Due to Chace’s lack of oxygen, Chace lost his mobile skills, but he still possessed the ability to see and cry.
“He could stretch and move, but he lost his mobile skills,” Henderson said.
PETE HENDERSON SHARED WITH THE COURIER THIS PHOTO OF HIM WITH HIS SON, CHACE.
Henderson was told to come to a determination regarding the state of Chace. Due to the severity of Chace’s condition, Henderson was informed his son may never be able to talk, move again, or say “I love you,” but Henderson said emphatically, “He’s coming home with me.”
Henderson was told things would be tough, but he was willing to sacrifice it all, which included closing his new restaurant to take care of Chace, embracing any and every obstacle that would lie ahead.
At first, Chace went home to a residence in Oak Hill because it was handicap-accessible, Henderson said. Then, in May 2003, Henderson purchased a home in Hazelwood to make sure his son had the nurses, oxygen tanks, and life support systems necessary to assure he was well taken care of.
“He never went to a nursing home or anything like that,” Henderson told the Courier. “He always stayed here with me. We just toughed it out.”
Henderson was told Chace would only live eight days following the tragic incident, but he ended up living for much longer.
Chace loved watching SpongeBob. He loved his dogs, China and Caesar, who would jump into the bed with him. He loved his parents as well. Henderson told the Courier that he was committed to providing Chace with a life filled with any and everything that would help him, and he did just that.
“You will learn your kid because of his eyes. His eyes would tell you everything,” Henderson told the Courier. “My son’s eyes told me everything. He would tell me if something was wrong. His heart rate would change from just the sound of my voice. His heart rate could be in the 70s. If I came home and he heard my voice, it would shoot up to the 90s. Everybody noticed that.”
STEELERS LEGEND TROY POLAMALU WAS AMONG THE MANY NOTABLES WHO MET CHACE.
Over the years, Chace had tons of visitors…including legendary Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu.
On March 20, 2010, Chace passed away. He was 7 years old. He would have turned 8 on July 9, 2010.
After Chace passed away, Henderson told the Courier that he struggled severely, battling with depression and thoughts of suicide. With the comfort and consistent care of a close friend, Henderson was able to see the other side of the darkness. From that point on, Henderson decided he needed to get out of the house. He began a hot dog cart to keep his mind busy. He began selling chicken, hot sausage and pork chops, garnering support from truckers and people from all walks of life.
Within two months of having the hot dog cart, Uber, the ride sharing company, informed Henderson they liked his food, asking him to be an official caterer for executives at their new facility, serving 30 plates per day, three days per week. Thirty plates a day became 70 plates a day, at three days per week. Then 70 plates per day became 140 plates.
It was at that moment Henderson realized the days of serving plates out of his food cart, church and home were no longer feasible.
It led Henderson in 2011 to lease a space at 301 E. Carson St., South Side, called “Gabriella’s Gourmet.”
Henderson revamped the place, adding homey touches, and a welcoming atmosphere. But on the outside, the signage remained “Gabriella’s.”
Why so?
Henderson said that the previous owner’s daughter, named Gabriella, was sad to see that Henderson was thinking of changing the name of the restaurant.
“I said, ‘Don’t cry,’ followed by, ‘How old are you?’ And she said, ‘8.’ And I’m thinking of my son. My son would have been 8,” Henderson recalled.
Henderson decided to call the restaurant “Chace’s at Gabriella’s,” even though from the outside, the signage never changed from Gabriella’s. For the most part, everyone knew it as Gabriella’s.
But in 2024, knowing that by this time, Gabriella would be a grown woman, Henderson decided to completely revamp the inside and outside of his restaurant. He painted the outside black and yellow, and it now says prominently on the front, “Chace’s Cafe.”
“I named the restaurant Chace’s so that every day, your name will forever be spoken out of people’s mouths, even those that don’t know you,” Henderson said about his late son. Henderson made that promise to Chace, and it has reigned true to this day as Chace’s spirit lives on through every Chace’s Cafe customer.
These days, Henderson has a steady clientele, who come in bright and early when the doors open at 7 a.m. He closes daily at 2 p.m. Oftentimes, some of his other children will frequent the establishment. Henderson’s other children are Tasha, Delvon, Mario, Daynell, Dessirae, Atara, and Chance.
HAZELWOOD REMEMBERS CHACE, WITH “CHACE WAY.”
At the corner of Johnston Avenue and Mansion Street in Hazelwood, there is an honorary sign. It says, “Chace Way.” In Hazelwood, they’ll never forget Chace.
And on the South Side, thousands of vehicles ride and hundreds of people walk by the 300 block of E. Carson Street every day. No doubt, they see the name shining. Chace.
“My job was to make sure that his name would be spoken every day. That’s what I said I was going to do,” Henderson told the Courier. “That’s why the commitment to be there is stronger than the desire just to have a restaurant, because I should have folded before everybody on Carson Street. I should have been gone, but my desire to do what I promised to do for my son in his memory is why I do it.”
PETE HENDERSON WITH TWO OF HIS CHILDREN, CHANCE AND DELVON.
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