By Eric Curl
May 2, 2024 – The plan to restore the historic Asbury United Methodist Church for use as a restaurant will next go before the Savannah City Council for consideration, after the Metropolitan Planning Commission recommended approval of proposed zoning changes and a special-use permit to sell alcohol for the project.
The zoning changes and rehabilitation of the church also had the full support of the Historic Savannah Foundation, according to Ellie Isaacs, HSF’s director of Preservation & Historic Properties.
“This site and building has an important and longstanding history in the Victorian district and the rehabilitation will bring new life into the building and will reopen the building up to the public once again,” Isaacs said prior to the MPC vote.
The MPC’s endorsement on Wednesday comes after a Savannah-based development group purchased the late-19th-century church last month with plans to open a restaurant focused on local sustainable seafood, according to co-owner Brent Watts, as previously reported.
“It will be a very approachable restaurant where you could go on a budget and have a really cool experience, or you could also blow it out with a multiple course dinner,” Watts said.
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After calling the church home since 1927, the congregation’s decision to sell the building was an extremely difficult and emotionally taxing one that came after decades of discussions about whether they could afford the increasingly high cost of maintenance and continue to be a vital congregation, according to Pastor Precious Hawkins.
Named as one of 10 “Places in Peril” for 2019 by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation in November 2019, the building was in dire need of repair, however, it was not until after the congregation had a needs assessment performed did they learn full extent and true cost, Hawkins said via an emailed statement Wednesday.
Overall, funding raised toward renovating and preserving the building equated to less than 1% of the estimated $4 million that would be needed to complete the repairs, Hawkins said.
While the original building dates to 1887, much of it had to be rebuilt after a hurricane in 1896, and a brick facade and additions were added, according to the Georgia Trust. Asbury started using the building in 1927 and had stood as the only African American United Methodist church in the historic Victorian District, according to the Georgia Trust.
Asbury is now holding services at a temporary location at at 10710 White Bluff Road, the education building at White Bluff Presbyterian.
Hawkins said that the temporary location is definitely different from the worship space they are accustomed to, but “God is still blessing” after White Bluff Presbyterian graciously provided their space. Average worship attendance has increased, now that they are in an ADA-compliant space, and they have been able to to get back to outreach and mission ministries since they are no longer encumbered by the financial strain of the church building, Hawkins said.
“As of now Asbury is praying and looking for a new place to call home,” she said. “We are trusting that God will provide a new location.”
When Asbury does find a new permanent location, they will be able to take a bit of their former church with them after working with Aurora Stained Glass to remove and preserve the church’s stained glass windows, along with some of the church’s pews, Hawkins said.
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