Mike Wolanin | The Republic Randy Allman, executive director of Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center that operates Yes Cinema, relaxes in a recliner in The Den inside Yes Cinema in downtown Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, July 10, 2024.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic Randy Allman, executive director of Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center that operates Yes Cinema, relaxes in a recliner in The Den inside Yes Cinema in downtown Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, July 10, 2024.
The big picture at YES Cinema just got a lot bigger.
The nonprofit facility at 328 Jackson St. in downtown Columbus has added two new rentable rooms, with pricing to be determined soon.
One is The Den, just off the YES lobby — a cozy space and former conference room with 10 theater recliners, a portable bar, a 100-inch high-tech video screen — and a smaller secondary one — for private showings of sports to movies. The screen also easily and quickly hooks to a video gaming system.
“We want guests to have that theater dinner-and-a-movie experience,” said Randy Allman, executive director of the Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center that operates YES. “In here, people can get that at-home feel, yet in a larger space where all their guests are really comfortable.”
The other space is a back portion of the connected former Sears/Cummins Inc. property in the form of what is now the Sarla Kalsi Conference Center with an adjoining kitchen and also a 100-inch video screen.
Kalsi is the former longtime executive at the Irwin-Sweeney-Miller Foundation and current community leader and philanthropist.
The Kalsi room, roughly 80 feet long and 30 feet wide, will feature varied, interchangeable furniture and can accommodate layouts for everything from receptions to business meetings and conferences. Both spaces will feature full-service catering from the YES Cinema Cafe, from sandwiches to steaks. Beer and wine can be served in both areas.
The additions are especially significant because YES’ stats show that its movies, job training and conference rentals bring an estimated 70,000 people annually to downtown Columbus, according to Doup.
“We know that we bring a lot of revenue downtown — and that’s important even if you’re not at all intrigued with our overall mission of helping low-income families,” Allman said.
YES’ building was formerly owned by Cummins for years and is now owned by the city. Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center operates YES and pays rent to the city for its space. Before the city recently assumed ownership, YES’ monthly rent was long ago scheduled to double, according to Allman.
He works alongside Diane Doup, community outreach coordinator for the United Way agency.
They say these added spaces will help with downtown event space, help YES and the neighborhood center make added income to cover the rent increase and, more importantly, give it more funds to operate a mix of free programs for residents among the city’s most financially struggling residents.
Even without a fixed rental price yet, YES already has received inquiries about Christmas parties, according to Allman and Doup.
“We are just very, very grateful to the city for this,”Allman said.
He added that there is no guarantee for how long they will have the space.
“We’re hoping for at least a couple of years, so we can really be a good representative of the downtown arts district,” Allman said. “And actually, we would like to be an anchor for whatever else they put in here, whether that’s a restaurant or a convention center or whatever.”
Doup is hopeful that that sense of teamwork with others will work well.
“We hope that whoever else comes in is someone who values all the things that we bring to the table,” she said.
Allman believes one element of the additions goes beyond construction.
“You have to have a sense of trust in this kind of arrangement,” Allman said. “And we appreciate the city’s trust in us.”
To rent the spaces:
Call Linda Allman, YES Cinema events coordinator, at 812-350- 3051 for pricing and details.
