Church by day, amphitheater by night, Carpenter Street’s former auto-parts warehouse has been transformed into a non-traditional contender in the Athens music scene.
The building at 29 E. Carpenter St. has been host to a number of volunteers, hammers in hand, every Saturday since December 2010, when Central Avenue Church took over it. This weekend marks the grand opening of the renovated Central Venue, a place for all things music, art and food.
“We want to do everything in this place that the city will let us do,” said Jake Householder, the director of worship and media at Central Avenue Church and a vocalist and guitarist for Athens-based band Scubadog.
The idea of extending Central Avenue Church has been in the works since the 106-year-old building began struggling to sustain its growing services and membership. One day, Householder said he passed the abandoned Uptown space and knew that it was perfect for the project.
“It’s in the heart of Athens,” he said. “A church shouldn’t be an isolated building.
We wanted it to be a vibrant and important part of the community.”
Its coveted Uptown location and open interior persuaded the group to create not only a second place to worship but also a place where the community can rock out on the weekends and local vendors can share their crafts.
With this vision, they stocked it with a high-quality sound system, 300 seats and one of the largest stages in town. Its high-vaulted ceilings and rustic brick have been restored to give it a look that Householder calls “industrial chic.”
“They’re walking a fine line because they’re challenged with overcoming any preconceived notions of a church that might scare people, but I imagine that they’ll be successful in their attempt for it to be a community space,” said Adam Remnant, lead vocalist and guitarist of Southeast Engine, who will play Friday at Central Venue.
The new space will differ from the rest of the Uptown music scene in that it will be used solely as a venue — not a bar, not a coffee shop.
“I am excited about playing in a place that isn’t a bar because sometimes I feel like the bands compete with the bar,” Remnant said. “It’s fun to play for an audience who is there for the music, and sober audiences are more focused anyway.”
The new concert space offers a dozen tables each night for Athens merchants, such as Donkey Coffee and Espresso and Fluff Bakery & Catering, which are both already on board.
“Integration of local food and art is really important because that’s really what we’re hanging our hat on right now,” said Paige Alost, executive director of the Athens County Tourism and Visitor’s Bureau. “You can never have too many music venues; the key is that each is a little different from the others.”
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