Italian Eatery Bakes a House for Charity
By Frank Ruggiero

Typically, a gingerbread house is not something you'd expect to find at Joe's Italian Kitchen.

Nonetheless, there it stands, above homemade tiramisu, cannoli and cheesecake - 18 cups of flour, 20 cups of confectionery sugar, four cups of corn syrup and two and a half pounds of margarine.

Furthermore, in keeping with the Halloween spirit, the structure is decorated as a haunted house.

Created in three days by Erin Cole, baker at Joe's, the house rests on a foundation of Oreo cookie crumbs, and its exterior is lined with vanilla wafers, candy and abundant icing.

While restaurant owner Joe Cafaro admits the confectionery construction is "very edible," this gingerbread house is listed for a different sort of market.

Diners at Joe's can purchase $2 raffle tickets for a chance to win the gingerbread house. Whether the winner places it on display or indulges a guilty pleasure is entirely up to the winner, said Cafaro, who will donate all proceeds to the Grandfather Home for Children in Banner Elk.

"We decided to build a gingerbread house, and after all the work and time and energy that went into it, we asked ourselves, 'What are we going to do with it?'" Cafaro said. "We decided on a raffle and to give the money to a charity."

After discussing the matter with friends and customers, Cafaro continued to hear mention of the Grandfather Home for Children, a ministry organization that serves and houses children who have suffered from mental, physical and sexual abuse.

Grandfather Home for Children serves 85 children, 50 percent of whom stay at the Banner Elk headquarters. The organization has two satellite campuses, one in Asheville and the other in Winston-Salem.

Cafaro contacted the organization, which he said was quite receptive to the gesture, and the wheels were set in motion.

Giving back to the community - that's what Joe's is about," Cafaro said.

Jon Cox, director of development with the Grandfather Home for Children, said the children are excited about the fundraiser.

"The kids are really appreciative of the community," he said. "They feel the community support when someone does something like this."

Proceeds from the raffle will provide icing on the cake, or house in this instance, for the Grandfather residents. The money will help benefit the children who remain at the Banner Elk campus during the holiday season.

"There are a lot of needs for our kids, and we do a lot of planning to make the Christmas season special for them," Cox said. "One of the things we'll do with the money is purchase gifts for the children, personalized gifts, like the ones you'd get from a family."

Though the list of needs is ever-growing, Cox said providing the children with "as normal a holiday celebration as possible" is paramount.

The raffle will be held Oct. 28 at 5 p.m., and tickets are available at Joe's Italian Kitchen. In fact, many customers and regulars have been taking advantage of the offer - some even twice.

"I've got customers that come in and every time they buy a raffle," Cafaro said. "We've also had many anonymous donors, and we're real grateful for that."

Joe's Italian Kitchen is going on its fourth year in the High Country, and has established itself as a viable member of the community through numerous contributions, such as sponsoring Watauga High School soccer and little league baseball.

"It's just giving back to the community, giving something for someone who doesn't have it," Cafaro said. "I don't think anyone in town's ever done this."