American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation have announced the 2024 recipients of the Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant program. Fifty small restaurants in the US will receive a $50,000 grant each to help them upgrade, renovate and grow their businesses. The grant program significantly expanded its reach this year, doubling the number of grantees, including in 13 new states, and increasing the total grant funding to $2.5 million, up from $1 million in prior years.

In its fourth year, the program now has reached 125 historic small restaurants in every US state, Washington DC and Puerto Rico. American Express launched the Backing Historic Small Restaurants program in 2021 in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation to support historic and culturally significant restaurants during the pandemic. The program has since expanded in its scale and financial support to continue helping independently owned small restaurants serve their local communities.

In addition to financial support, Resy, American Express’s restaurant reservation platform, will offer each grantee a year of complimentary access to Resy OS restaurant management software, to help streamline their costs and boost operations. 

“Small restaurants are vital to our communities, and their impact perseveres, as they continue to innovate and make their neighborhoods more vibrant and connected,” says Madge Thomas, head of corporate sustainability at American Express. “This year’s grantees represent the rich traditions and iconic stories of communities across the US. I’m so proud that we’re able to help them grow and continue to build their legacy.” 

“Over the course of four years, our partnership with American Express has supported more than one hundred small, independent restaurants across the country, each with a distinctive history, representing a wide array of cuisines,” says Carol Quillen, chief executive officer of the National Trust. “Equally important is what these restaurants share. They are beloved gathering places in their neighborhoods. In many cases, they have been run for generations by the same family. Empowering small businesses that hold decades of stories is one powerful way that preservation strengthens local economies as it serves local communities.” 

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 through their history, cuisine and locations. Many of the 2024 grant recipients include establishments that are family owned or have been operating for generations.

“Many Missoulians have grown up with Bernice’s in their lives. While riding their bikes home from elementary school, kids love to stop in for a treat. When on a lunch break from the nearby high school, students walk over for our salad sampler and a cupcake. As adults, they’ve ordered their wedding cakes. The generational traditions have been going strong for over 45 years,” says Missy Kelleher, one of the 2024 grantees and owner of Bernice’s Bakery in Missoula, Montana. “This grant will allow us to increase seating capacity and improve curb appeal and thus support our mission of being a community gathering place for locals and visitors alike. Bernice’s is truly a neighborhood bakery.”

The full list and more information about this year’s Backing Historic Small Restaurants grantees can be found here.