Motor City Match helps Detroit family-owned restaurant expand to new location with $55,000 grant

• Samaritan Cafe West marks the Motor City Match program’s 206th neighborhood ribbon cutting and the second Motor City Match ribbon cutting to take place in the Wildemere Park neighborhood in the past year

• The restaurant expands a family-owned dining location from Detroit’s east side to a new west side location, creating eight jobs for neighborhood residents

• Founded by five siblings, the family-owned business carried forward a long-term vision despite the loss of two brothers during the pandemic

• Motor City Match awarded owner Theresa Sparks a $55,000 grant to support the project

July 1, 2026 (DETROIT) – Mayor Mary Sheffield and the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) today celebrated the opening of Samaritan Cafe West, a family-owned restaurant carrying a Detroit dining tradition from the city’s east side to a new home on the west side. Supported by a $55,000 Motor City Match cash grant, the business marks the program’s 206th neighborhood ribbon cutting.

Located at 8359 Linwood Ave., Samaritan Cafe West offers affordable breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, blending classic diner favorites with soul food-inspired offerings.

The menu features customer favorites including corned beef egg rolls, Philly steaks, fried chicken and rotating Soul Food Sunday specials. Weekly promotions like 99-cent coney dogs and Taco Tuesday keep meals affordable for neighborhood residents.

The restaurant is located just two blocks north of another Motor City Match awardee, Moondog Café, making it the second Motor City Match ribbon cutting in the Wildemere Park neighborhood within the past year.

Bringing new life to a long-vacant property

The building that now houses Samaritan Cafe West sat empty for more than 25 years before owner Theresa Sparks found an unexpected connection to it through her church.

Sparks has belonged to New Bethel Baptist Church for more than 45 years. So when she heard church leaders were considering selling a former ice cream parlor on Linwood Avenue, the property’s history and location made it a natural fit.

“I’ve been part of that church community for so long that it feels like my neighborhood,” said Sparks, a Detroit native. “I know the people there. I’ve worked there, volunteered there and spent much of my life there.”

Conversations began in 2021 and plans took shape the following year. Construction started in early 2023, but the project hit several hurdles, including contractor changes and extensive renovation needs.

A partnership with Emerging Industries Training Institute, a Michigan Works-affiliated construction training program, ultimately completed much of the work. Students and instructors helped transform the 1,400-square-foot building, taking the structure down to the studs before rebuilding it into the restaurant that stands today.

A family vision years in the making

Samaritan Cafe West represents far more than a second restaurant location for Sparks. It continues a family dream that began more than 15 years ago, when one of her brothers spotted an opportunity to transform a vacant space inside the former Detroit Mercy Hospital building at 5555 Conner Ave.

After approaching family members with the idea, the five siblings pooled their resources and opened Samaritan Cafe, building a business around their shared love of food.

“We always met on Sundays in the kitchen with our mom,” Sparks said. “Food was always our thing as a family. We cooked together, gathered together and enjoyed bringing people together through food.”

The original location has now served customers for 15 years, surviving economic challenges, a global pandemic and the loss of two of the siblings who helped launch the business. Rather than abandon the plans they had created together, Sparks and her family chose to move forward.

“We had always talked about expanding,” Sparks said. “After two of my brothers passed away, we looked at the business plan and decided we were still going to carry out that vision.”

An impact on the Wildemere Park neighborhood

Samaritan Cafe employs eight people, all of whom live in the surrounding neighborhood.

The business also maintains a longstanding commitment to workforce development, partnering with organizations such as Grow Detroit’s Young Talent and local reentry programs to provide job training and employment opportunities for young adults and returning citizens.

“Theresa and her family took a dream that started on the east side and built a second location that’s putting eight more neighbors to work on the west side,” said Sheffield. "Expansion and job creation like this is how Detroit rises higher.”

Sparks credits Motor City Match with helping launch the project at a critical moment.

The grant became the first source of funding for the expansion after Sparks submitted her application just hours before the deadline. A customer had mentioned the program weeks earlier, and on the night applications were set to close, Sparks decided to apply.

That late-night decision ultimately helped turn years of planning into reality.

“Theresa’s late-night effort turned into eight jobs for the neighborhood and a second location for a business that's been part of Detroit for over a decade,” said Sean Gray, DEGC senior vice president of Small Business Services, which manages the Motor City Match program. “Theresa had her plan ready. She just needed the right moment, and we are proud to support her.”

“We still have work to do, but the future is promising,” Sparks said. “It feels good to be able to employ other people – it’s really about helping others.”

Through 30 rounds of Motor City Match:

• Total cash grants: $21 million (Total leveraged investment: $111 million)

• 84% of awardees are minority-owned

• 72% are women-owned

• 70% are owned by Detroit residents

About Motor City Match

Motor City Match is a unique partnership between the City of Detroit, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC), the Economic Development Corporation of the City of Detroit (EDC) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Competitive financial assistance is supported by a broad partnership of Southeast Michigan community development financial institutions and corporations including, Bank of America, Fifth Third Bank, Ford Foundation, Hudson Webber Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, New Economy Initiative and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Motor City Match applications are available quarterly. More information is available at www.MotorCityMatch.com