NEWS FEATURE: At the Gospel Grille, Combining the Synergy of Music, Food

c. 2004 Religion News Service CINCINNATI _ Kevin Ellerbe sees an important synergy between good gospel music and good food. And for nearly a year, now, he’s seen the fulfillment of a dream to blend the two in a unique venue here called the Gospel Grille, where patrons can feast on enticing buffet treats such […]

c. 2004 Religion News Service

CINCINNATI _ Kevin Ellerbe sees an important synergy between good gospel music and good food. And for nearly a year, now, he’s seen the fulfillment of a dream to blend the two in a unique venue here called the Gospel Grille, where patrons can feast on enticing buffet treats such as barbeque ribs and home-fried chicken while enjoying Nashville-quality gospel music, comedy and other kinds of diversions all in a family setting.

“My dream for a long time was to put this kind of entertainment and dining experience together,” said the Youngstown, Ohio, native. Ellerbe and his wife, Sonya, celebrated the first anniversary of the Gospel Grille Memorial Day weekend. “God gave the vision a couple years ago, and with his help, we’re still at it now.”


The fact that the gospel entertainment and dining concept _ one of a few such venues _ has survived this long is testament to the positive atmosphere and pleasant experience patrons enjoy at the Grille.

“Our customers tell us how much they enjoy coming here, and they thank us for creating a place where they can bring their families and have a really good time,” he said. “People are touched by the music and the fact that this is truly a ministry to young people. Our customers come from all over to see what it is that we’re doing.”

Ellerbe, who also works full time as a teacher at a school in Cincinnati’s poor East End neighborhood and as a youth minister at the University of Cincinnati and Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, said that he thought of the idea for the Gospel Grille during his Nashville days when he managed a gospel band.

“I was impressed with the venues available for gospel music in the South, especially around Nashville, and I wondered what kinds of gospel entertainment venues there were in the Cincinnati area,” he said. After discovering that, outside of various churches that played host to various gospel music shows, there was no such venue available, Ellerbe began his search.

“I had a vision of what the place would look like,” he said. “It was very specific. I wanted to have a room that would hold a good size audience, that served food and offered a close atmosphere.”

Armed with an idea of what he wanted to do, Ellerbe and his wife set out searching for the perfect setting for the Gospel Grille. Finally, after a few days of looking, he said that he was guided by the hand of God into the parking lot of a music venue called The Music Palace, a restaurant and entertainment complex that highlights a giant Wurlitzer organ center stage, surrounded by platformed table seating on two floors.

“I walked in the door and introduced myself to the owners, Barb and Tony Marty, and I began telling them about the concept I had.”


The Martys liked the concept and set the stage for the Gospel Grille. Ellerbe said that The Music Palace is open for lunch business 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday, while the Gospel Grille operates in the evenings Thursdays through Saturdays and Sunday afternoons.

Patrons gather for buffet-style dinners at the Grille, and then they settle back for a variety of entertainment that has included traditional gospel tunes, gospel rap and performances from the likes of Clay Cross, Christian jazz artists Allen and Allen, Bryon Cage, Lisa McClendin and Lel Trio de Hoy, among others. Ellerbe said that the variety of musical styles offered at the Grille reflects his goal to provide a setting where Christians _ “and like-minded non-Christians _ can gather together, enjoy the music and each other’s company.

“Cincinnati has had its obvious problems in the past,” Ellerbe said, referring to the race riots of a couple years ago that has pitted the city’s African-American community against the police division and members of the city’s leadership. “We’re trying to bring a little light to a city plagued with darkness. This venue exists s people of all backgrounds can come together in harmony.”

DEA/JL END OCONNOR

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