Historic Delano gathering spot restored to early grandeur, is ready to host new generation
If you’ve been inside Leslie Coffee Co. at 930 W. Douglas in Delano, you’ve likely noticed its historic charm.
The shop, which is on the ground floor of a two-story brick building that dates back to 1911, has original tile floors, a decorative ceiling and massive wood-framed windows.
As it turns out, the space upstairs is just as historic and just as charming — and it’s home to a classy new event venue being run by two well-known Wichitans: Jimmy Vo, owner of Kan-Grown Hydro Farm and friend to many Wichita chefs, and William Cody Lonergan, the amiable manager of Peerless at 919 E. Douglas.
The pair are the managing partners of the recently opened space, which was named Odd Fellow Hall as a nod to its original builders. It features an open 2,700 square-foot space complete with original wood floors, soaring 20-foot ceilings, a professional kitchen and an early 1900s feel.
But Vo and Lonergan don’t plan to use the space only as a for-rent venue, though weddings, corporate dinners and private parties will be a big part of the business. The two, who are entrenched in the Wichita art, music and culinary scenes, also plan to put on their own events and parties in the space, including chef’s dinners, house concerts and other art-driven gatherings.
The space has inspired all sorts of ideas in its managers, they said, and they hope to make it as popular as it was during its first three decades of existence. The two have developed a calendar full of events in July that the public is invited to, and Lonergan and Vo said they’re excited for Wichita to see the space, which over the years has served as a meeting hall, a ballroom, a community theater, an immigration center — even a place for people to hit balls in batting cages.
“It kind of has that speakeasy quality to it,” said Lonergan, sitting on one of the space’s two facing leather sofas as natural light streamed in behind him. “Once you know it’s here. it’s something you will always point out.”
A history of Odd Fellows
The brick building at the corner of Douglas and Walnut, which is listed on state and national historic registers, was built in 1911 as a home for Wichita’s West Side Odd Fellows — a branch of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. They’re a non-political fraternal organization whose roots date back to 1700s England and whose stated goal is to “emphasize a leaving of the old life and the start of a better one and of helping those in need,”
There are still Odd Fellows lodges across the country and in Kansas; there are Odd Fellows groups in Great Bend, St. John, Ozawkie and Eudora.
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The Wichita Eagle reported on June 25, 1911, that the cornerstone for the building, which would cost $25,000, was to be installed that day. Those who walk by the space today can see a dedication stone on its south-facing side that reads “Westside Lodge No. 345 I.O.O.F. Instituted July 14 1888. Erected A.D. 1911.”
When it was completed in late 1911, the Eagle described the building as “a source of pride to the members of the order” and said that “all citizens of West Wichita will congratulate the order on having erected so fine a lodge center.” Much of the main floor was occupied by the Reserve State Bank, and the building was featured in a 1911 Wichita Eagle spread celebrating the growth and development of West Wichita. Among the other buildings whose photos appeared in the article were Friends University’s Davis Hall and the original Masonic Home at Douglas and Seneca.
The ballroom portion of the second floor of the building, accessible by dramatic wooden staircases that lead up from both Douglas and Walnut, had been vacant for some time when the new owners decided to turn it into something. They knew it had potential, especially since they’d found an old newspaper photo of it being used for a 1936 banquet. (That photo, blown up, has been added to a wall at the venue’s west-facing entry.)
They decided to turn the space into a venue and launched a massive remodel. The floors were refinished, and the owners filled the space with new chandeliers, light fixtures, draperies, rugs and furnishings that had an antique feel but were still contemporary. They also added central heat and air conditioning, spruced up all the original woodwork and installed an original-looking tile entryway to the room that spells out the word “Odd Fellow.”
Vo and Lonergan helped design a commercial kitchen for the space and added an era-appropriate brass-and-glass bar. Both were built into deep closet spaces that lined the edges of the space and were accessible by original wooden roll-up doors.
The duo had some chef’s dinners and events planned, and they were about to reveal the new space to the public when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and everything was put on hold.
A ‘creators’ space’
Vo and Lonergan said they used the pandemic downtime to fine-tune their plans for the venue, which they want to double as a “creators’ space,” they said. They plan to put on frequent events that highlight Wichita’s chefs, bartenders, musicians and artists, and July will be their big rollout month.
It starts on July 10 with an event called Yadda Fest. The evening party will be a celebration of a music-and food-focused local interest show called “The YaddaYaddaYadda Show” that Sunspeak Studio has been shooting in the space since March. By the time of the party, they will have filmed and uploaded onto YouTube seven episodes with host Courtney Nance, and the party will include food, drinks and music from all of the chefs, mixologists and bands that have been featured so far.
A ticket to the evening event will cost $25, and once there, people can purchase food and cocktails. The organizers hope to make Yadda Fest an annual event.
The first chef’s dinner will be on July 17 and will be a collaboration between chef Bill Crites, who is in the process of opening his own quesadilla restaurant in Wichita, and chef Weston Townsley of Reverie Coffee Roasters. The dinner will be open to 60 people, who will be asked to wear formal attire, and will feature a 6 p.m. cocktail hour, a 7 p.m. five-course dinner with alcohol pairings, and music by the Sage Judd Band from 9:30 to 11 p.m. Tickets to the dinners will be $125, and Vo said he hopes to offer new dinners every six weeks or so with a rotating cast of chefs. Tickets to the first dinner are now on sale at oddfellowhall.com/events.
Odd Fellow Hall will also have an open house from 5 to 9 p.m. on July 31, where those who want to see the space can visit and enjoy drinks and snacks.
Those who do rent the venue can bring in their own catering and rent the use of the kitchen or hire Vo and his collaborating chefs to do it. People can rent bar setups, audio visual equipment, an in-house DJ and even “mood lighting.” Odd Fellow Hall will also do outside catering jobs. Rental information is available at oddfellowhall.com/pricing/.
Lonergan, who said the venue has been up and running for about three months, said he’s enjoyed seeing visitors’ reactions to the historic space. He and Vo frequently hear from people who come across original Odd Fellows items in antique stores around town, and they’re always learning about events that took place inside its walls.
The space has been special for all of its 110 years, he said, and he and Vo are honored to be its new caretakers.
“It’s very unique,” he said. “I just don’t think they build things like this anymore.”
This story was originally published June 18, 2021 at 5:01 AM.
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