Historic Midtown building reopens as wedding venue

The former Stine & McClure Chapel on Gillham Road, opened in 1923, has reopened as a wedding and event venue called the DeLeon.

The former Stine & McClure Chapel on Gillham Road, built in 1928, has reopened as a wedding and event venue called The DeLeon.

The former Stine & McClure Funeral Company building on Gillham Plaza is a landmark Midtown building, and it now has new owners.

Jodie and Eric DeLeon have relocated their wedding and event space business from downtown to the historic site. They officially opened in November and are getting ready for the first wedding in the new space this week. They’re finishing up renovation and hosting Christmas parties and other events in the building they have renamed The DeLeon.

Jodi and Eric DeLeon replaced the front doors of the Stine & McClure Chapel, but repurposed them inside in a new space where wedding parties can relax before the festivities.

Jodi and Eric DeLeon replaced the front doors of the Stine & McClure Chapel, but repurposed them inside in a new space where wedding parties can relax before the festivities.

more about the history of the building and the block

Jodie DeLeon says she and her husband ran a popular wedding space, the Sawyer Room, downtown. They opened the business in 2007, just a year after they got married. It was their experience trying to find a wedding venue that sold them on the business possibilities for filling what they thought was a void.

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Formerly tan walls have been painted and given new life.

“People were rude to me when I called,” DeLeon says of her experience trying to find a location for her marriage. She sensed that those operating other venues didn’t care so much about people, but were motivated by money. And the venues she looked at seemed to have lost the personal touch.

So the DeLeon’s bet on the fact that they could do a better job, even though they had no experience. They key, Jodie felt, was to take care of the bride and groom and make the day as flawless as possible.

They’ve kept that goal in mind as they’ve refurbished the former funeral chapel into a wedding venue. When they took possession of the Stine & McClure building, “everything was tan,” DeLeon says. She wanted to bring it to life, adding murals to the ceilings and painting the woodwork in gold.

The renovated space now includes a chapel for the actual ceremony, as well as bride’s, groom’s and other suites where those in the wedding can prepare for the event. DeLeon also tore out walls in an office area to create a large space for eating and dancing.

When they found it necessary to move to a new space earlier this year, the DeLeons looked at various areas before decidign the Gilliam Plaza space was ideal.  Although they previously ran the business from downtown, DeLeon believes Midtown will be a good location for the business to continue to grow.

“We feel good about this part of town,” she says.

The wedding chapel at the DeLeon.

The wedding chapel at The DeLeon.

 

4 Comments

  1. Jimmy says:

    Nothing says “till death do us part” like an old funeral home

  2. Eric DeLeon says:

    Jimmy, I don’t understand your sarcasm. As one of the owners, we took a chance on closing our last venue in downtown and moving it to Midtown! This is an amazing and historic building in the heart of Kansas City and in the Hyde Park Neighborhood. Instead of going out and buying a new property, we decided to look for a building with rich history, in a GREAT neighborhood and have amazing character, with out needing to completely change the layout. We believe we’ve found it!!! Yes this WAS a funeral home and we never shy away from that fact. But, when you make an unnecessary comment that can potentially hurt or push people away from a small business just to crack a joke, that’s not good thinking on your part. Btw, our next open house is January 31st and you’re welcome to come and see all of the changes we’ve made to brighten up this old diamond in the rough! 🙂

  3. Susan T says:

    Thank you to the DeLeons for inviting me to come to the open house last month. The building is phenomenal, the makeovers are stunning and the thoughtfulness in every detail is remarkable. I will always be 1,000% behind renovations as it brings massive amounts of positive energy in those neighborhoods. Wishing this couple great success on this endeavor.

  4. Derek says:

    Thank you for coming to Hyde Park! The photos look remarkable, I can’t wait to get a sneak peak inside. What a positive use for such a gorgeous old building. Midtown definitely offers more space for the money as compared to downtown.

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