Thursday is the big day for the Benton Harbor Soup Kitchen as it completes its move into a new location.

We reported in March the kitchen reached a deal to purchase the former Lark’s Bar-B-Que building at 174 West Main Street after learning it would need to vacate its previous home at 233 Michigan Street because of a need for major repairs to the facility. Soup Kitchen Board President K.C. Gast tells us within just about eight weeks, the kitchen has managed to secure the new place and get moved in.

“We’re moving the last of our stuff into the former Lark’s building, and we will be serving sandwiches out the door as we did during COVID on May 1,” Gast said.

Gast says there’s a whole convoy of volunteers helping to move the operation to the Lark’s property.

“People have just been so willing to help out with everything, with the building. It’s just amazing, and nothing happens by chance.”

Gast says it’ll take a few months for the Berrien County Health Department to approve the new kitchen, so they’ll only be serving sandwiches out the door through sometime this summer. Once health department approval is obtained, they can start serving hot food again.

Gast promises the new Soup Kitchen will “look like a first-rate diner” that closes at 1 p.m. each day so it fits in with the atmosphere on Main Street.

It takes about 1,000 volunteers per year to run the Soup Kitchen. It dishes out about 40,000 to 50,000 meals per year.