Former Kalamazoo Church Is Now Alcohol Serving Theatre

Our country and world is no stranger to repurposed religious buildings. As we have seen in the past, religious entities have pulled in large amounts of money and have been able to upgrade their facilities or move into a new space, leaving the old space available for new patrons. Well, for the most part, another church will come in and take over the space, but not always.

This one church in Kalamazoo has been taken over by an unlikely patron, a theatre. Of course, a theatre would be perfect in an old church as the architecture of the building is magnificent and the multitude of offices and levels can help with things as well. Although this isn't common it worked out until they started serving alcohol, now it's weird.

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Okay, let's break down why this is weird. Firstly, the building that's in question is the First Baptist Church in Kalamazoo which sits at 315 West Michigan Avenue. The Church doesn't operate out of this building on a daily basis but it does still have its church services every Sunday morning and is also an entrepreneurial incubator.

Now, during the week and the better part of the weekend, this building is used as the Crawlspace theatre. The space is mostly used for comedy shows but is looking to expand to some jazz performances and has so far only been serving limited drinks. They received their liquor license on May 1st and have been serving since then.

They are looking to make noise in September as they are hoping to have a full bar, with a sketch and improv shows every weekend alongside the performances they are currently supporting. They are looking to serve beer, alcohol, and wine in the theatre which holds a capacity of 99.

The best part is they have been added to the social district so you'll also be able to take your drinks to go and enjoy them on foot in the beauty of downtown.