Our Facilities

Grow Benzie event center: blue building with a covered porch, picnic tables, green grass, trees, and a partly cloudy sky.

Four acres. Unlimited possibilities.

Since 2008, our community center has hosted residents and visitors from all backgrounds. Our campus facilities include an event center, commercial kitchen, incubator farm, co-working office spaces, bee apiary, sewing studio, edible trails, and community gardens.

What will you do here?

Event Center

A 3000 square foot gathering space.
Ideal for: Weddings, potlucks, fundraisers, concerts, meetings, & more.

Available year-round for public and private events, Grow Benzie’s Event Center is used for all kinds of gatherings. The hall can hold up to 200 people, is handicap accessible, and is connected to our Commercial Kitchen.

Or call us at 231-882-9510

Pricing: Half-day (4 hour) rentals - $125, with $50 deposit. Full-day (8 hour) rentals are $400, with $100 deposit. Financial Assistance is available. Reach out to jessica@growbenzie.org for more information.

Event Center | Incubator Kitchen | Studio Office | Other Spaces

Incubator Kitchen

A 1,500 square foot kitchen.
Ideal for: Small-scale food entrepreneurs and chefs, culinary classes.

Our licensed and state-certified commercial kitchen is available for entrepreneurs to produce value-added food products that can be sold online and through retail and wholesale markets. Certified by the Benzie County Health Department as an approved commissary for caterers and food trucks.

We’ve incubated projects including:

    • Two convection ovens

    • Six-burner range and oven

    • 20-gallon steam kettle

    • Industrial Sanitizer Machine

    • 30-quart Hobart Mixer

    • Refrigeration unit (two-door)

    • Pots, pans, mixing bowls, and smallwares

  • For tenants selling to the public as a business, the following are required:

    Not required for private non-sale food making, such as an open house.

Pricing: Drop-in flex-time rate: $20/hr. Full day (1-3 days/week) - $200/day. include 24-hour access to a shared commercial kitchen. Communal cooking supplies, storage for ingredients, and products are provided for your reservation. Prices are subject to change.

Reach out to jessica@growbenzie.org or call 231-882-9510 for more information about pricing and availability.

Studio Office

Various drop-in office and work spaces.
Ideal for: Meetings, individual office needs, wedding preparation.

Situated between the Grow Benzie Event Center and Hoop Houses is our 3,200 square foot Studio House. Our drop-in and ongoing rentals include desk space, internet access, and a shared kitchen space. Limited capacity.

Past & current office tenants include:

Calvary Up North Church, 3 owls, Bloom and Be, Record Patriot, and SHEskool

Pricing: Drop-in rate: $25/day. Recurring rates: $100/week or $400/month. Reach out to jessica@growbenzie.org or call 231-882-9510 for more information about pricing and availability.

Also on our Campus:

  • Community Garden

    When Grow Benzie was established, a group of local residents joined together to renovate four acres with a single united vision of creating a beautiful, thriving community garden space.

    Throughout the years, the community gardens have taken many shapes and forms. Staff, interns, and volunteers have transformed the small field into 30 community garden plots, into a vegetable garden, into projects led by MSU Master Gardeners, into raised beds and container gardens, and most recently being redesigned by our MSU Horticulturist intern.

    The Community Gardens are always looking for volunteers to assist with weeding, watering, pruning, trimming, and much, much more. Learn more

  • A greenhouse with tomato plants growing in organized rows, with a concrete path in the middle, and a wooden wall on the right side.

    Hoop Houses

    With Grow Benzie's 15,000 sqft greenhouses and growing space, along with our supportive network of farmers and customers, we are able to provide opportunity for apprentice farmers to learn the ins & outs of business without the harsh ups and downs.

    In 2022-2023, a Community Impact Grant from the United Way of Northwest Michigan assisted with the revitalization of the Southern-most structure. Today, the middle and Northern houses are being reimagined as community spaces.

    Want to get involved? The Incubator Farm and Cold Creek Farms needs a hand from time to time supporting planting, harvesting, and managing old infrastructure. Visit our volunteer page to check for any food and farming volunteer opportunities

  • A sewing workspace with various hats displayed on a wooden stand, surrounded by sewing tools including scissors, thread, a seam ripper, a pin cushion, and a sewing machine. The background shows storage shelves filled with supplies.

    Sewing Studio

    One of the first projects Grow Benzie completed when purchasing the abandoned greenhouse nursery in 2008, was converting the 3,200 sqft ranch house into commercial business space.

    Immediately, we converted a spare room downstairs into a fully operational sewing studio. With hundreds of hours of volunteer work, and donations from throughout the community- including 6 new Husqvarna sewing machines donated from the St. Ann’s Church Men’s Club in Frankfort- the dream became a reality.

    Quilting groups, after school programs, and field trips have all spent time in the Sewing Studio. Learn more about how you can get involved with the FiberShed or Days for Girls

Make It