Hope Community Church received the go-ahead in June to relocate to the old Varsity Twin Theater in downtown Columbus, but it may be a while before the church — and the coffee shop they planned to operate — becomes reality.
The church is still in the process of raising the $500,000 to $550,000 they estimate will be needed to purchase the former Malco movie theater and renovate it.
Pastor Bo Jeffares said Tuesday he’s not sure how much money has been raised so far, but church members have been donating to the goal for about four weeks, and he expects to receive a funding report about a month from now.
Jeffares went before the Columbus Planning Commission in June, agreeing to pay state sales tax on the coffee the church sold, waive alcohol restrictions on businesses in the church’s vicinity and open the 200-seat auditorium for use by the city.
But Zoning Officer Kenny Wiegel said church officials ended up not applying for a permit at all after learning that the city could not legally prevent a church from moving into the C-2 commercial district due to the Religious Land Use and Institutional Act of 2000, a federal law which states that municipalities can’t deny churches from building where places of assembly — like theaters, symphony halls, community centers, etc. — have already been built.
If the church does raise enough money to move from its present location on Highway 45 South, they will then have to apply for a permit to renovate from the building department, and any changes to the exterior would require approval from the Historic Preservation Commission.
Meanwhile, two coffee shops have opened up nearby — Cafe Aromas, at 404 Main St., and Quartier Latin, at 100 11th St. S. — and a third, Coffee on 5th, is preparing to open at 111 Fifth St. N. Front Door, also nearby at 400 Main St., has maintained a small coffee shop for years. Wiegel said he has heard that another coffee shop may move into 423 Main St.
But Jeffares said he is unconcerned about the possibility of competition when — and if — his church decides to move.
“The goal for us was never to make any money,” Jeffares explained. “It was to serve the community and create a place for the community. I would say those coffee shops help that goal. We’re certainly not scared of them in terms of competition, because we’re not thinking along those lines. We don’t mind them. They might not like us, but we’re not out to make a profit.”
When the plan first originated, Jeffares said he intended for the church to have no signage other than perhaps a folding sign on the sidewalk on Sunday mornings. The rest of the week, the front portion of the building would house a coffee shop.
The intent is to appeal to the “unchurched and de-churched,” he said, not to proselytize or make a profit.
He said no one in the church, other than a small board of elders, knows exactly how much money has been raised so far, but he believes they are “in real good shape.”
“We’re doing very, very well,” Jeffares said. “People are very excited about it. Everybody in our church is excited about it. I tell them it’s coming one of these days. You’re not talking about a huge process once we’ve secured the financing.”
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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