Superior Elks seek to return defunct kitchen to community service
Feb. 2—SUPERIOR — Hidden in the lower level of the Elks Lodge is a shuttered space waiting for a new life. The commercial kitchen holds potential for the entire community.
"We want to start it back up and basically donate it to other activities in the community, like basketball team, hockey team, that kind of stuff," said Lance Caven, exalted ruler of Elks Lodge 403.
Caven, whose title equates to volunteer president for the organization, sees a reopened kitchen as a win-win opportunity. Athletic teams and nonprofit organizations could use the kitchen for free to prepare meals for fundraisers. Those events would bring potential members into the space.
"It's all about giving back," said Josh Johnson, a loyal knight, or vice president, with the lodge. "And it's just sitting here. It's literally just sitting here waiting to be used. We just want to do what we can to get it going."
The lodge once had a chef and offered a lunch menu from the kitchen, but it hasn't been in operation for at least 15 years, the leaders said. The two rooms are used for storage.
A lot of elbow grease, a licensed plumber and some commercial kitchen expertise are needed to revive the space. Someone knowledgeable is needed to evaluate the appliances, from the 10-burner stove and commercial dishwasher to the convection ovens, steam table and deep fryers, so they can be fixed or replaced as needed.
"I worked at a pizza place when I was in college, but that's about the extent of my kitchen knowledge," Caven said.
Funding is also needed, but how much has yet to be determined. A hand-washing sink needs to be pulled out and replaced with a sink large enough to dump buckets into. Some floor tiles need replacing; the entire area needs to be deep cleaned and painted; and the shelves full of dishes need to be cleaned.
"We can do the cleaning. We can do all that sort of stuff," Johnson said, but not the technical things.
Fire suppression needs are already taken care of, thanks to an Ansul fire suppression system that was installed a few years ago with financial help from the masons.
The Elks Lodge is a fraternal organization and social club with a focus on helping the community. The Superior lodge is
housed in a historic 1908 brownstone building at 1503 Belknap St.
The lodge was built for a membership of more than 1,000. Currently, it has 320 members with an average age of 65, Caven said.
The lodge's charitable arm is focused on supporting veterans and youth.
"We provide a complimentary dinner for veterans and a program on Veterans Day each year," Caven said. They have supported homeless veterans in the past by creating backpacks filled with necessities for distribution.
They provide drug awareness materials to students, free-throw and soccer programs for kids ages 8-13 and numerous scholarship opportunities for high school students.
The Superior Elks Lodge received $20,000 in national grant funding this year, Caven said. The group has given $2,500 to the Salvation Army and is in the process of finalizing about $15,000 in grants to be given to the Boys and Girls Club and to the Center Against Sexual and Domestic Abuse.
Over the past 10 years, grants from the Elks have helped to support Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank, Penny's for Heaven, Senior Connection's Meals on Wheels program, Mentor North, Harbor House Crisis Shelters, Honor Flight Northland and more.
The kitchen is one way to increase the lodge's potential. Another is through memberships.
"The reason that I joined was the whole aspect of being able to give back and sometimes it doesn't have to be money-wise. I volunteer a bunch of my time here in the hopes that this can grow and grow and grow, so we can keep giving back to the community," Johnson said. "And the more members we get, the more ideas we get, the more volunteers we get."
To join the Elks, one must be a U.S. citizen, believe in God, be of good moral character, and be at least 21 years old. Both men and women can join the non-political, non-sectarian organization.
Reach out to any current member, email
,
or call 715-394-7403 for more information or a membership application. Visit the
Superior Elks Lodge 403 website
or
Superior WI Elks Lodge 403 Facebook page
for additional information
