The Root Café in Little Rock’s SoMa district receives $50,000 national grant

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A Little Rock farm-to-table café in Little Rock’s trendy SoMa district has received a national grant recognizing its uniqueness.

The Root Café in SoMa received a $50,000 grant from the Backing Historic Small Restaurants program, sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express. The Root Cafe was one of 50 restaurants in the country to receive this honor.

The grant acknowledges CAFE The Root’s farm-to-table operation . Representatives of the restaurant point out that 75% of the café’s food budget is spent locally, with a menu having ingredients from farmers and producers throughout Arkansas. This puts The Root Cafe in the top half of 1% of farm-to-table restaurants nationally.

Officials with the restaurant said the grant would be spent on beautification and improvement projects for the building’s outside, including new energy-efficient windows, fresh paint, patio updates, lighting repairs and new signage.

“The Root Cafe’s commitment and mission manifests in one of SoMa’s defining and cornerstone businesses,” SoMa 501 Little Rock, Inc. executive director Elizabeth Michael said. “With preservation in the DNA of SoMa 501’s mission, we look forward to The Root’s historic building improvements.”

This is The Root Cafe’s 13th year in business at 15th and Main Street in the former Sweden Crème Restaurant building. Later this year, a second location west Little Rock in Breckenridge Village is planned for opening.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation , which administers the Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant program, selected this year’s grantees from a group of restaurants that operate in historic buildings or neighborhoods and provide cultural significance to their communities.

Backing Historic Small Restaurants is part of an American Express initiative that focuses on providing financial support and resources to help small businesses address critical needs.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLRT - FOX16.com.