Local husband-wife restaurant team Jamie Brown and Jeff Tonidandel have a lot to celebrate. Over the past two years, they have relocated a historic building to preserve it, earned MICHELIN recognition, launched a Telly-winning television series, and opened a deli window in their former NoDa doughnut shop. Now, they can add preserving a Charlotte landmark to their list of accolades.

Recently, Charlotte City Council voted to designate Leluia Hall as a local historic landmark, in cooperation with the Historic Landmarks Commission. The designation marks the team's second historic property, joining the neighboring Leeper & Wyatt Building.

Before opening as Leluia Hall in 2025, the building spent decades as Bonterra Dining & Wine Room. Its history stretches back even further: the site was home to Atherton Methodist Church, built in 1895, before the congregation later replaced it with the brick church building that stands today as the former Dilworth Methodist Episcopal Church South. Diners can still spot original architectural elements throughout the restaurant that reflect its past.

The interior of a restaurant dining room with the photo focused on brown beams along the ceiling. — Original X-shaped trusses from the building's days as a church remain inside Leluia Hall. | Photo by CLTtoday

"To be able to salvage this building and have it marked as a historic property feels like it adds to the layers of the story and allows it to be protected and preserved for many years to come," Brown told CLTtoday. "I feel really grateful to the people who have been stewards of this building along the way, and with the building next door."

Speaking of the building next door... You'll remember the Leeper & Wyatt Building was relocated by the team in fall 2024 and is slated to become Wyatt's Superfine in 2027. Keep an eye on your inbox for details.