The Van Ness Italian Pizza Kitchen (4483 Connecticut) is getting a DC Great Streets grant worth $43,130 for building improvements.
Owner Rick Henning will use the money to make improvements throughout the restaurant.
“We intend to replace the old tile floors throughout the first floor dining, kitchen and restroom areas,” Henning told us in an email. “The restroom will be updated with a new sink, toilet and exhaust fan. Dining room tables and chairs will be replaced with more comfortable and higher quality furniture. New ceiling tile and HVAC vents will replace the old discolored and damaged ones. Repairs to the basement floor will occur to strengthen the subfloor and replace broken tile (already completed). The entry way will get repaired and new tile will replace the old.”
This is the third business at Van Ness to get a Great Streets award with Van Ness Main Street’s assistance. The first was Bread Furst in 2015 for equipment and the outdoor café, the second was Acacia Bistro for upgrading the interior and outdoor dining areas.
Henning first heard about this grant opportunity for small businesses when he attended a Van Ness Main Street Design Committee meeting last summer. Theresa Cameron, executive director of Van Ness Main Street and Sally Gresham, a chair of the Design Committee, forwarded him information about the application. He put together a draft and Dipa Mehta, a chair of the Van Ness Main Street Economic Development Committee, assisted in the electronic submission of the document.
Van Ness Main Street has also assisted Italian Pizza Kitchen and the other businesses at 4481-4483 Connecticut with exterior improvements.