Photo provided A view of the former Ogilsville United Methodist Church which is being redeveloped into a restaurant.
A local woman is planning to renovate a former church and auxiliary building in southern Bartholomew County into a high-end restaurant and cafe with a dog park, fire pits and a children’s area.
The Bartholomew County Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously voted to approve a use variance request from Cari Roberts to allow for a restaurant and cafe establishment called The Annex on property zoned agriculture: general rural at 9250 S. State Road 58 in Ohio Township.
The property includes a 1,560 square-foot auxiliary building to be used as a cafe serving coffee, ice cream, breakfast and lunch, which will be expanded by 2,227 square feet to account for a larger kitchen that’s needed. Hours at the cafe would run from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and would be near an outdoor area.
“I see the property used as a community space, a place where people have meetings or go to work away from the house,” Roberts wrote in a memo to the planning department, adding there will be free wifi for anyone to use.
“We’ll be offering small bites in the morning/afternoon, lots of healthy foods for grab-and-go customers, craft coffee, and teas,” according to Roberts. “I see it evolving as we see what the community desires.”
The restaurant, to be located in the former Ogilville United Methodist Church, originally built in 1904, will serve steak, seafood and pasta with a “speakeasy” ambiance, described as having the feel of a “Henry Social Club” but with a “Story Inn” type of quaintness. Roberts has said she intends to preserve and “revitalize” the church, calling it a “treasure trove of historical value.”
The 1.55 acre property is to be expanded to 9.71 acres after an administrative subdivision request was recently approved by the planning department. This was done to provide enough space for a required septic system, according to a planning staff report.
Roberts had previously gotten use variance approval for just the auxiliary building in October 2023 and planned to incorporate the church building at a later date, essentially doing the project in two phases. After working through the design process, Roberts said she found it would be a better idea to maximize the footprint now by including both the auxiliary building and church into renovation plans.
A preliminary recommendation by planning staff had asked for continuance to further flesh out the amount of parking that would be available on the property, but more information was provided during the meeting that satisfied the board.
The approval includes conditions that a buffer be installed along the southwestern property boundary that abuts a neighboring residence, that the use variance approval be limited to the redevelopment and expansion of the auxiliary building, church building and other outdoor amenities and that final verification be provided from the state that an adequate septic system can and will be provided on the property.
A zoning compliance certificate regarding the septic system is still pending which is why it was included as a condition, even though the administrative subdivision was done to account for it.
It also includes a condition that a 35-foot wide access easement running across a neighboring cemetery and to the rear of the property not be obstructed.
