Carlito’s Soul Kitchen Awarded $40,000 Grant To Improve Historic Building in Wheeling
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The National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Expresst have selected Carlito's Soul Kitchen as one of their 2023 "Backing Historic Small Restaurants Grant Program" recipients to help the restaurant improve its historic building.
Beginning in 2021, the "Backing Historic Small Restaurants Grant Program" has collectively distributed $1 million to 25 historic small restaurants every year. The $40,000 funding that each restaurant receives is to assist in managing operation costs and physical space improvements.
Carlito's Soul Kitchen, located at 753 Main St., has been selected as a recipient for the 2023 round of funding. The restaurant's owner, Jeramie Alvarado, was thrilled when he received the news two weeks ago.
"When I checked the email and I saw that I won I was almost in disbelief," Alvarado said. "When you fill things out like that it's a shot in the dark, it's like playing the lottery."
Katherine Malone, the chief preservation officer of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said about the program, "It's really about supporting small businesses, particularly these small businesses that have been in these communities for generations. They create places that are touchstones and central to the identity of these communities."
To get the grant, Alvarado explained he needed to provide more than just photos of the restaurant, but the history of the building in which the restaurant is located.
"They are backing historic restaurants," said Alvarado. "So for the grant, I needed to know how historic is Carlito's Soul Kitchen?"
To find the history of the building, Alvarado recruited his friend and President of Development at Polyhedron Learning Media, Jeanne Finstein. Finstein discovered that the first owner of the building was attorney Alfred Cadwell Jr., who served as Wheeling's mayor for two terms and was appointed as consul to the Kingdom of Hawaii by the U.S. Senate during Lincoln's presidency.
"The rich history and the ties to Abraham Lincoln, along with so many other high political things, definitely helped us receive the grant," explained Alvarado.
Finstein also assisted Carlito's Soul Kitchen in acquiring a plaque from the Historic Landmark Commission, which was required to apply for the grant.
Carlito's Soul Kitchen is the only restaurant in West Virginia to receive a grant. Alvarado believes that Wheeling's large number of historic buildings also helped catch the attention of The National Trust for Historic Preservation.
A requirement for the grant is that $30,000 must be used on improving the building, and Alvarado plans to paint the outside of the restaurant to match the colors of the interior. Nail City Painting will paint all three stories of the outside of the building to match the interior of the restaurant.
Alvarado is excited to work with the company to complete Carlito's Soul Kitchen's exterior, as he believes they can improve upon the original paint job that he admits "could have been better."
"It's perfect," said Alvarado. "It would have taken me years to come up with that extra money just to put it together."
The other $10,000 of the grant is going to buying new dining room chairs and adding vinyl wrapping to all the tabletops in the restaurant.
Alvarado's dedication to not only preserving the historic building but also improving upon the location is apparent. He has recruited local artists to paint murals, create decor, and also add logos to the tabletops.
"I really love these buildings so I try to make them as beautiful as possible. I want to preserve, beautify, and show them off," Alvarado said
His dedication also caught the eyes of The National Trust for Historic Preservation. Malone described Alvarado as a "tremendous steward of the building."
Malone said about Carlito's Soul Kitchen, "It is a gorgeous building in two restored Victorian-era buildings with a restaurant inside focused on serving its community, not only food, but the spirit of its community."
The grant has to be used before December and Alvarado hopes that painting will start towards the end of the summer and be finished in three weeks. He added, "It will be worth every penny."
"When you're able to make these buildings shine, it's a really good feeling," Alvarado said. "To be able to get a win like this is huge."