As sad as I am to see the Hub theater in Rochelle go, I'm really excited for this next chapter in it's life. As the renovations have begun to transform it into a distillery.

The old theater is seeing new life again as a distillery and the reinventions of the old movie house began on Monday.

According to the Rochelle News-Leaderthe marquee to the theater was taken down to make room for a balcony.

The balcony actually isn't a new idea from the owners of Kennay Farms Distillery. It was "sparked after discovering an old photo" of the theater.

Doris Kennay said that "the façade of the building will feature much of its original design, as shown in the early photo, with the balcony being enhanced to give it an eclectic look. When we found the original photo of the balcony it gave us the idea to resemble that and accommodate an outside area for people to enjoy in nice weather.”

The distillery will feature "a glassed-in conference room in the upstairs balcony and a tasting bar that overlooks the distilling production." They said that wanted the "former theater to be both functional and esthetically pleasing."

They are at "looking at opening sometime late next year." 

Awesome I can't wait to see this.

The best part about this renovation is that the owners are reusing the old building. They aren't tearing it down and blotting out it's existence. It's a major up-cycling project that's going to be pretty awesome once it's done. Or at least I think so.

To learn more about Kennay Farms Distilling from Ashton, IL visit their facebook page, Kennay Farms Distilling.

You know, I spent many times as a teen hanging out there to see movies with my friends. Now as an adult I may be hanging out there again to check out this distillery and whiskey tasting.

 

 

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