A North Myrtle Beach church is becoming a Main Street dinner theater. Here’s the plan.

Early in his career, Greg Rowles imagined performing for small audiences — weaving stories around classics from the American Songbook with a live backing band.

It took the 57-year-old decades to get there, but the longtime Alabama Theatre crooner and S.C. Entertainment Music Hall of Fame inductee isn’t waiting any longer.

“I’ve been dreaming about a dinner theater for so long, and as I was singing in these small restaurants, I remember what my dad used to say: ‘There are only two things that brought people together, and that was music and food,’” Rowles told The Sun News.

By next spring, the Greg Rowles Dinner Theatre is expected to launch inside what’s now a Main Street church in North Myrtle Beach — bringing the building back to its musical roots.

It opened in 1989 as the Dixie Jubilee under legendary country music promoter Calvin Gilmore, who also founded the Carolina Opry and offered Rowles a job playing pedal steel guitar in 1991.

“It’s just kind of come back full circle and the building does have that old Hollywood vibe to it, and the location, we think, is going to be instrumental to this as well,” Rowles said.

Rowles is taking over space currently occupied by Valorous Church at 701 Main St., a roughly 1,000-member non-denominational ministry moving to larger spot along Fire Tower Road.

Church spokeswoman Brianna Black said the relocation is unrelated to Rowles’ plans for the venue but a necessity as attendance and enrollment at its school continue to grow.

“It was literally over ten years ago we purchased a big piece of land across the waterway and now we’re finally getting ready to move,” she said. “We’re really excited to be over there and timing has been perfect for Greg and his team to come in.”

Rowles said the building will need a major overhaul — most significantly paring back an 800-seat auditorium to 300.

“This is going to be my show,” he said. “When you think about Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball and that floor show they did at the Cabana, it’s going to have that kind of vibe.”

Although he’ll headline, Rowles said he expects to bring in traveling acts every quarter, including off-Broadway productions.

“I think what we’re offering in this venue is something completely different than what you find at the Opry and the Alabama Theatre,” Rowles said. “I’m looking forward to giving patrons another opportunity to be entertained in a different type of setting.”

This story was originally published January 25, 2023 at 2:18 PM.