Downtown Statesville Honored by North Carolina Main Street Program with Award of Merit; Local Business Owners Named Main Street Champions

Downtown Statesville received statewide recognition this month as part of the North Carolina Main Street Awards, highlighting both the power of historic preservation and the people who bring downtown to life every day. The Holland Building was awarded an Award of Merit for Best Historic Rehabilitation Project, recognizing a transformative effort led by Stamey Holland, the Statesville Historical Collection, and G.L. Wilson Building Company. At the same time, longtime downtown business owners Kelli Simko and John Walker of 220 Café were named Statesville’s 2025 Main Street Champions, honoring their years of steady investment in the life and culture of downtown. The Holland Building project began with a practical need—finding a new home for the Statesville Historical Collection—but quickly became something more. Originally constructed in 1919 and later home to a Woolworth’s, the building was carefully restored and adapted into a vibrant public space. Improvements included a restored façade, modern accessibility features, and thoughtfully designed exhibit areas. During construction, crews uncovered a long-hidden Woolworth lunch counter, the site of a 1960 student-led protest just weeks after the Greensboro sit-ins. That history is now preserved as part of the Collection, and the building was designated as a stop on the North Carolina Civil Rights Trail in October 2025. Since reopening in January 2025, the Statesville Historical Collection has welcomed more than 9,000 visitors from across the country and around the world, serving as both a cultural anchor and a driver of downtown activity. The project has also delivered measurable economic impact, tripling the building’s taxable value and positioning the upper floors for future investment. Equally rooted in downtown’s story are Kelli Simko and John Walker, who opened 220 Café in 2010. Over the past fifteen years, they have helped shape the everyday experience of downtown—hosting local artists and musicians, supporting community events, and building lasting relationships with residents and visitors alike. Their recognition as Main Street Champions reflects not a single moment, but years of consistency. “Projects like the Holland Building matter because they remind us that preservation is not about holding onto the past—it’s about putting it back to work for the community,” said Matthew Pierce, Downtown Business & Development Manager for the City of Statesville and Executive Director of the Downtown Statesville Development Corporation. “And places like 220 Café show how that work becomes real in people’s lives. This is what the Main Street program is meant to do—create a downtown that people invest in, care about, and return to.” Together, these recognitions underscore a simple idea: strong downtowns are built through both meaningful reinvestment and the people who choose, day after day, to be part of the life of a place.