$30K grant to support Knead Community Cafe facade project in New Kensington
A facade project will improve access to a downtown New Kensington banquet hall while preserving a piece of the city’s history.
Knead Community Cafe plans to begin work this summer on the Fifth Avenue facade of its adjacent banquet hall, Banquet on Barnes. Kevin Bode, who founded Knead with his wife, Mary, said their goal is to have the project finished before the end of the year.
The refurbishment will maintain the marquee that had been part of the Circle Theatre, which closed in 1966, and is the only theater marquee remaining in downtown New Kensington. The buildings had been home to the Sons of Italy before the Bodes bought them in 2016 and opened Knead in 2017.
“It’s really cool we’re going to have it brought back to life again,” Bode said of the marquee. “This is going to be really nice for downtown New Kensington. It will be another beautiful thing along Fifth Avenue.”
Bode said he expects the project to cost at least $250,000 and has about $100,000 secured. That includes a $30,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County’s Revitalizing Westmoreland program.
This is not the first time the foundation has supported Knead. It received a $35,000 grant in 2017 that was used toward the cafe’s facade.
For the banquet hall facade, Bode said they also have received $50,000 from a private foundation and have a verbal commitment for another $20,000 grant. He would not identify the donors.
“I continue to be blown away. I say this all the time: The support that we’ve gotten from the foundations and individuals — I pinch myself,” he said.
Bode said the project, in addition to improving the appearance of the facade, will improve access to the banquet hall, which now has to be entered through the cafe. It also will make the banquet hall entrance handicapped accessible and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act through the installation of a ramp.
New Kensington Council will vote on the facade improvements and the ramp encroachment on the sidewalk when it meets at 7 p.m. July 7 at city hall, according to City Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti.
The work will be done by Moret Construction, Bode said.
Brian C. Rittmeyer, a Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
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