Together with American Express, the National Trust for Historic Preservation unveiled 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.
Pensacola’s Five Sister’s Blues Cafe is one of the 50 restaurants to receive the grant and is the only one in the state of Florida. Congratulations to Five Sister’s Blues Cafe! Have a look at the full list of restaurants below.
2024 “Backing Historic Small Restaurants” Grantees
- New York Cafe, Ketchikan, AK
- SOCU Southern Kitchen and Oyster Bar, Mobile, AL
- The Root Cafe, Little Rock, AR
- MacAlpine’s Diner and Soda Fountain, Phoenix, AZ
- La Paloma Mexican Restaurant, La Verne, CA
- Far Bar, Los Angeles, CA
- The Oinkster, Los Angeles, CA
- Food for Thought Cafe, Joshua Tree, CA
- Gold Hill Inn, Boulder, CO
- Jessop’s Tavern, New Castle, DE
- Five Sisters Blues Cafe, Pensacola, FL
- Sweet Potato Cafe, LLC, Stone Mountain, GA
- Miss Phay Cafe, Davenport, IA
- Zeno’s, Marshalltown, IA
- Westside Drive-In, Boise, ID
- Docs Just Off 66, Girard, IL
- Old Fashioned Donuts, Chicago, IL
- Fritai, New Orleans, LA
- Comfort Kitchen, Boston, MA
- Main Streets Market & Cafe, Concord, MA
- Curtis’ Coney Island Famous Weiners, Cumberland, MD
- Bombay Mahal, Brunswick, ME
- Alley Cat Cafe, Pontiac, MI
- Rated Test Kitchen, St. Louis, MO
- Bernice’s Bakery, Missoula, MT
- The NuWray Hotel, Burnsville, NC
- Rockin’ Relics, Rugby, ND
- Johnny’s Cafe, Omaha, NE
- Blue Loon Bakery, New London, NH
- Hotel Eklund, Clayton, NM
- Capitol Bar & Brewery, Socorro, NM
- La Cita Restaurant, Tucumcari, NM
- Sylvia’s Restaurant, New York , NY
- Canela Café Bar, Brooklyn, NY
- Santa Fe Tivoli LLC, Tivoli, NY
- Cascade Locks Ale House, Cascade Locks, OR
- Horn O Plenty Freshtaurant, Bedford, PA
- Verde Mesa, San Juan, PR
- Hannibal Kitchen, Charleston, SC
- Nicks Hamburger Shop, Brookings, SD
- The Arcade Restaurant, Memphis, TN
- Cisco’s Restaurant Bakery & Bar, Austin, TX
- Doshi House LLC, Houston, TX
- Christie’s Seafood Restaurant, Houston, TX
- Log Haven, Salt Lake City, UT
- Foode, Fredericksburg, VA
- MKT: Grafton, Grafton, VT
- Ajax Cafe, Port Hadlock, WA
- Riverview Terrace Cafe, Spring Green, WI
- The Bluebird, Casper, WY
