Plans are underway to turn the former 1st Baptist Church building at 404 S. West St. in Greenfield into a dinner theater and event center with office spaces.
Mitchell Kirk | Daily Reporter
GREENFIELD — Karla Howard and her daughter, Jade Frost, were making cherry jelly when they had their aha moment.
“That’s when you get your best ideas, right?” Howard said with a laugh.
They had been brainstorming what to do with the former 1st Baptist Church building at 404 S. West St. that Howard and her husband, Mike, bought last year.
The Howards had initial plans to put apartments in the building, but scrapped that after realizing the challenges that would come with rezoning the property and funding the endeavor.
“It’s always kind of been in the back of our mind — let’s have a dinner theater; we could do that,” Howard said.
The family has been involved in theatrical productions at the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts in Greenfield as well as ones in Shelbyville and Indianapolis.
“We’ve done a lot of shows and stuff, so we might as well have our own,” Frost said.
And that’s exactly what they plan to do, now that the Greenfield Board of Zoning Appeals has approved the property’s use for a dinner theater, event center and four small office spaces that will be for lease.
The venue will be called the Taste & See Dinner Theatre & Event Center.
No structural changes are planned for the building, which 1st Baptist Church closed in 2018 after worshiping there since the 1950s. Interior updates are coming, however, including redoing floors and walls, expanding bathrooms and updating the kitchen.
Pews have been removed to make way for dining tables and chairs in the former sanctuary, where meals, performances and events will occur.
“Our goal is every seat is going to be a good seat,” Howard said.
All meals will be catered and prepared offsite, and no alcohol will be served on the premises. The venue’s capacity will be 100.
The family envisions the dinner theater hosting not just plays, but events like community talent shows, trivia nights, film screenings, live music, comedians and breakfasts with Santa.
“We want to involve the whole community,” Howard said.
Maintaining a family-friendly atmosphere is important as they look toward establishing their lineup as well.
Howard said hours of operation in the beginning will mostly be Fridays and Saturdays, 6-11 p.m. at the latest.
The family also wants to make the facility available to rent for events like weddings, parties, concerts, bridal showers and family reunions.
Howard hopes to open in late summer.
“Hopefully it’ll be a destination place for Greenfield,” she said.
The family also plans to host a sale, likely at the end of May, offering items left by the church.
