Overflowing Third Ward church partners with Frenchy's to expand
Apr 10, 2018JonesApril 4, 2018Iconic church that Dr. Martin Luther King spoke at — Wheeler Avenue Baptst Church — will be expanding onto the Frenchy’s location in May of this year for growing congregation. Dana C. Jones/The CougarA historic Third Ward church — Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church — is expanding.The church has been a Third Ward staple since its inception in 1962 by 13 Texas Southern University students, a part of the Baptist Student Union that is still active today. Over the years, their congregation has grown and needs more space.“We have four worship experiences every Sunday, and that’s not sustainable,” said Rev. Alexander Johnson, an associate pastor at the church. “The membership of the church has continued to experience growth. To accommodate the growth, we are building a larger sanctuary.”Wheeler Avenue Baptist has partnered with another Third Ward icon — Frenchy’s, a drive-thru restaurant almost as old as the church — that plans to move locations in May. As Frenchy’s was planning its move, it entered into an agreement with the church.Dating back to when both Wheeler Avenue Baptist and Frenchy’s where both young, the two original owners, Rev. William A. Lawson and Percy Creuzot, respectively, engaged in a gentlemen’s agreement. Since then, both neighborhood institutions expanded — Wheeler Avenue into a black historic hub with thousands of congregants, and Frenchy’s into a franchised fried chicken restaurant with dozens of locations.“As (Frenchy’s) opens their new flagship location, we engaged in a land swap,” Johnson said.To secure Frenchy’s original location, Wheeler Avenue purchased the land under the restaurant’s upcoming location on Scott Street and Alabama Street and swapped it with the parcel adjacent to the church.It is only a two to three-minute walk between the old Frenchy’s and Wheeler Avenue.The expansion will be used as a sanctuary for “worship experiences,” which are the church’s Sunday services.The new Frenchy’s will remain in the Third Ward, staying relatively close to the o... (The Daily Cougar)
