In January 1910 this paper sent a reporter to the corner of Madison Avenue and State Street, where finishing touches were being put on the town’s newest factory.
The building’s inspector had just completed his rounds.
Quizzed on his impressions of the soon-to-open facility, he told the reporter: “Fine! Fine! It is a magnificent building!”
He then went on to describe how perfectly the building’s ranks of vertical windows gathered the outdoor light.
One hundred and five years later, the building’s newest owners, Cara and Daniel Thomas, are applying their own finishing touches to the same downstairs space, now called Miller’s on Madison Avenue.
Miller’s — whose name points to one of the site’s previous occupants, the dress factory H.L. Miller and Son — has plans to be the area’s premier event rental venue, specializing, says Cara Thomas, “in weddings, family reunions, class reunions, holiday parties, fundraisers and more.”
The building’s lower level comprises nearly 10,000 square feet of mostly ballroom space and can accommodate more than 300 guests. At one time a restaurant and sports bar, Miller’s has inherited a working industrial-scale kitchen, professional-grade bar and plenty of on-site parking.
In addition to facility rental, clients may request event planning or full-service catering, which the Thomases will provide in conjunction with Bolling’s Meat Market, of which Daniel and Cara (nee Bolling) are part owners.
Alternatively, a client can rent the facility on a turnkey basis. “They can pick up their key on Friday and turn it in on Sunday,” says Cara. “They’re on their own. They can decorate it how they want. They can bring in any entertainment they want.”
The menu of uses a client can make of Miller’s on Madison ranges, says Cara, from “a DIY event all the way up to ‘tell us your dream and we’ll make it happen.’”
Miller’s will host an open house in the coming weeks, says Cara, during which “this place will be fully staged as if you’re walking into, hopefully, your dream wedding. Anyone can come on that weekend to see it. We’ll decorate it in three different styles — a third, a third, a third. So, one will be your traditional white wedding. One will be a more modern wedding. And then we’ll do country chic. That way there is something for everyone.”
Miller’s on Madison will offer a full range of tableware and linens for any size gathering.
The Thomases have already received inquiries from surrounding towns, but their goal is to make the Miller’s name well-known across an even larger portion of the state.
The now iconic building, whose bricks were originally compiled for an overalls factory more than a century prior, has been closed to the public since January 2013.
But Cara Thomas, who has a career history in hospitality and large-scale event planning, has had her eye on the place for nearly a decade. Daniel Thomas, too, recalls dining there when it was a steakhouse and thinking “how cool it would be to have a place like this.”
“For sure,” says Cara. “I’m just so glad it worked out in the end.”
Breathing new life into the old building, they both agree, is an exciting, occasionally stressful, business, and their heads are contantly swimming with ideas of how to make the most of the historic building.
“We were thinking about it last night,” says Daniel. “You know, at 11 or 11:30 — we were still up talking about the things we can do with this place.”
“It’s just really hard to shut those thoughts off,” says Cara, smiling.
Half-price deals are currently available for summer rentals, but to receive more information about rates — or to inquire about the date and time of the open house — contact the couple at 620-228-9578 or on Facebook. Or else look for the LED sign going up at the southeast corner of the building’s intersection, which will offer up-to-the-minute information about Miller’s on Madison Avenue.
Couple opens event center in iconic building
