Backing Historic Small Restaurants
This year, 50 historic small restaurants across the country will each receive a $50,000 grant.
Together with American Express, the National Trust for Historic Preservation is proud to unveil the 2024 Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant program recipients. This year, 50 extraordinary small restaurants across the United States will each receive a $50,000 grant. These funds will help them rejuvenate, innovate, and expand their businesses, ensuring their cherished legacies endure.
The Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant program has granted $3 million to 75 historic restaurants (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) to help restaurants address critical needs amid ongoing economic challenges. By empowering these small businesses, each a treasure trove of stories and distinctive history, this program demonstrates that preservation can invigorate local economies while serving the communities they anchor.
We invite you to explore the grantees and their stories. Perhaps even visit one close to you!
"Maui Climate Fund" Grantees
The 2023 wildfires in Lahaina, Maui, devastated many lives and businesses. In response American Express, in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has distributed $200,000 toward the Backing Historic Small Restaurants: Maui Climate Fund to help small, independent restaurants on Maui address critical needs arising from these catastrophic wildfires.
Working with local and state partners, including the Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation, we selected five Maui restaurants to each receive a $40,000 grant. The grants are helping these restaurants to navigate supply chain issues, staffing shortages, inflation, and other challenges, so that their establishments’ legacies can continue.
- Māla Ocean Tavern, Lahaina, Hawaiʻi
- T. Komoda Store & Bakery, Makawao, Hawaiʻi
- Ichiban Okazuya Hawaii, Wailuku, Hawaiʻi
- Leoda's Kitchen & Pie Shop, Lahaina, Hawaiʻi
- ʻUlupalakua Ranch Store, Kula, Hawaiʻi
2024 "Backing Historic Small Restaurants" Grantees
- SOCU Southern Kitchen and Oyster Bar, Mobile, Alabama
- New York Cafe, Ketchikan, Alaska
- MacAlpine's Diner and Soda Fountain, Phoenix, Arizona
- The Root Cafe, Little Rock, Arkansas
- La Paloma Mexican Restaurant, La Verne, California
- Far Bar, Los Angeles, California
- The Oinkster, Los Angeles, California
- Food for Thought Cafe, Joshua Tree, California
- Gold Hill Inn, Boulder, Colorado
- Jessop's Tavern, New Castle, Delaware
- Five Sisters Blues Cafe, Pensacola, Florida
- Sweet Potato Cafe, LLC, Stone Mountain, Georgia
- Westside Drive-In, Boise, Idaho
- Docs Just Off 66, Girard, Illinois
- Old Fashioned Donuts, Chicago, Illinois
- Miss Phay Cafe, Davenport, Iowa
- Zeno’s, Marshalltown, Iowa
- Fritai, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Bombay Mahal, Brunswick, Maine
- Curtis' Coney Island Famous Weiners, Cumberland, Maryland
- Comfort Kitchen, Boston, Massachusetts
- Main Streets Market & Cafe, Concord, Massachusetts
- Alley Cat Cafe, Pontiac, Michigan
- Rated Test Kitchen, St. Louis, Missouri
- Bernice's Bakery, Missoula, Montana
- Johnny's Cafe, Omaha, Nebraska
- Blue Loon Bakery, New London, New Hampshire
- Hotel Eklund, Clayton, New Mexico
- Capitol Bar & Brewery, Socorro, New Mexico
- La Cita Restaurant, Tucumcari, New Mexico
- Sylvia’s Restaurant, New York, New York
- Canela Café Bar, Brooklyn, New York
- Santa Fe Tivoli LLC, Tivoli, New York
- The NuWray Hotel, Burnsville, North Carolina
- Rockin' Relics, Rugby, North Dakota
- Cascade Locks Ale House, Cascade Locks, Oregon
- Horn O Plenty Freshtaurant, Bedford, Pennsylvania
- Verde Mesa, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Hannibal Kitchen, Charleston, South Carolina
- Nicks Hamburger Shop, Brookings, South Dakota
- The Arcade Restaurant, Memphis, Tennessee
- Cisco's Restaurant Bakery & Bar, Austin, Texas
- Doshi House LLC, Houston, Texas
- Christie’s Seafood Restaurant, Houston, Texas
- Log Haven, Salt Lake City, Utah
- MKT: Grafton, Grafton, Vermont
- Foode, Fredericksburg, Virginia
- Ajax Cafe, Port Hadlock, Washington
- Riverview Terrace Cafe, Spring Green, Wisconsin
- The Bluebird, Casper, Wyoming
Explore All Grantees
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Have questions? Please check out our Frequently Asked Questions, or email historicrestaurants@savingplaces.org.
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