CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Cleveland restaurant owner, chef, and community activist is on a mission to change lives and he's now expanding his groundbreaking program that is bringing new life to a struggling neighborhood.

Spectrum News 1 got a firsthand look at the latest developments with The Buckeye Revitalization Project.

"The goal is to build families and careers and that doesn't take, that's not an overnight success. It takes time," said Brandon Chrostowski, founder of Edwins Restaurant and Leadership Institute.

Despite the pandemic, his plan to revitalize the Buckeye neighborhood as part of the Second Chance Life Skills Center that he established years ago continues today. "My goal is to reinvest inside of a community that deserves it. It's also to insulate sustainability,” Chrostowski said.

Chrostowski recently purchased two homes next door to each other on Buckeye Road. One home will be demolished to make room for a garden and playground. The other will be used as housing for program participants and graduates.

"This is for people who have families in our program or grads of our program who believe they can do great in culinary arts and hospitality but maybe don't have that home to rest their heads on that's safe and of course affordable," he said.

But Chrostowski is passionate about the goal making second chances possible to those who may most need it because he himself is no stranger of getting another chance.

"I was 19 and I had a run in with the law,” he said. “I was facing 5 to 10 years in prison and I spent enough time in the county jail to know that's not where I wanted to be. I was just hoping that this judge would do something that would grant me that freedom and he did in fact. He gave me probation instead of a sentence."

People returning to the community from the prison system can work and learn at his restaurant and leadership institute so they can have a successful future.

"The buck's got to stop somewhere, right? Someone’s got to stop and break this cycle. There has to be an opportunity that can allow this cycle to be broken,” Chrostowski said. “That's probably the best feedback that we get from someone is that ‘Hey, you know what, I was on a path in this direction and what was provided here at Edwins through the elite education, through housing, through the library that we're in right now, and through this opportunity I've broken the cycle.’”

Edwins Restaurant and Leadership Institute starts new classes every two months.

The institute also has programs in several prisons where inmates can begin their education before they leave the system.