COFFEE WITH
Hope on the Side Community Matters Cafe 1
A passerby on West First Street strolling along in search of food and coffee may stumble across a charming café and choose to dine there. Inside, though, they’ll find much more than delicious food and beverages: Community Matters Café offers a sense of renewed possibility to the people who work there.
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At 5550 SF with a 212-seat capacity, Community Matters CafÊ is an extension of Charlotte Rescue Mission, which provides housing and counseling services for people with substance dependencies in an effort to restore hope. Graduates of the Mission’s recovery program can then complete a four-month training program to learn valuable skills such as pastry making and barista services as well as time management and schedules at Community Matters CafÊ.
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Given the commitment to restoration and renewal, it’s appropriate that the design of the building has its own story of restoration and rehabilitation. LS3P’s renovation for the Charlotte Rescue Mission transformed the 100-year old Southern Spindle and Flyer building in Charlotte’s Third Ward neighborhood, an underutilized historic industrial structure into a welcoming, light-filled café.
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The Southern Spindle building provides a unique setting to house its hospitality and culinary training program which features a café, restaurant, kitchen, private dining room, exterior patio, and bathrooms. The Charlotte Rescue Mission has owned the building since 1959, which is part of its 1st Street campus; the structure has served primarily as a thrift shop for the Mission and later as a storage building. Located adjacent to the men’s campus and easily accessible from Uptown Charlotte, the cafe serves dual purposes of training residents and bringing awareness to the men’s and women’s programs of the Mission.
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The primary design goal for the project was to make the original building an integral part of the café’s aesthetic while creating an open environment to support the training programs associated with the Charlotte Rescue Mission’s drug and alcohol recovery programs. The design preserved nearly all of the original building intact, including the exposed brick loadbearing walls, exposed wood rafters, concrete floor, original window openings, and original wood trim and cornice on the 1st Street façade. In so doing, the design creates a timeless atmosphere while celebrating the rich history of the site.
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The challenges with the preservation of the building were minimal, as the cafĂŠ program was an ideal fit for the large open space. The solid structure required few interventions; the exterior wall had to be replaced at the rear of the building and the structural slab had to be supported in some areas. Unsuitable soils were remediated, and foundations from a previous structure were removed to accommodate the parking lot. Lead paint was found on some of the brick walls which had to be sealed. New structural support beams were added to support new rooftop mechanical equipment, while the steel and wood beams were painted to match the existing wood structure.
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Inside, with a sprinkling of vintage accents, the bucolic meets the industrial for a chic and dynamic experience. The cafĂŠ is organized according to two main programs. The first program is grab-and-go style and features the coffee counter, which plans to do its own coffee bean roasting. Small cafĂŠ tables along with casual seating areas add a dimension of coziness to the space. A shelving unit carrying vintage kitchen utensils, plants, and items from local makers provide a rustic flair.
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For a sit-down dining experience, one can either walk down four steps or use the ramp to access the full-service restaurant. Restored church pews serve as booth seating for diners eating from the cafÊ’s locally sourced menu. Generous windows enhance visual connectivity and allow for daylighting while a meeting room with sliding green barn doors completes the space. The centerpiece, however, is a commissioned community table at an impressive 200 lbs suspended from the ceiling.
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Aligned with the Community Matters Café’s vision and mission, the building is yet another testament that even when something looks like it can be easily destroyed, preservation and reinvigoration remain possibilities. Ed Price, the Director of Life Skills Operation for Charlotte Rescue Mission, says of the building, “What was destined for demolition, has now been restored—which is really what we do as a core at the Charlotte Rescue Mission.”
Photography courtesy of Charlotte Rescue Mission
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