Corbin church now owns popular local drive-in The Brown Cow

Above, Brown Cow employee Myranda Carpenter takes an order for Greg Razmus shortly after The Brown Cow opened for the first time this summer. The popular drive-in is now owned and operated by Forward Community Church.

The Brown Cow — a Corbin mainstay for ice cream, hamburgers and other fast food fare — reopened Monday with some surprising new owners.

After months of renovations and retooling, the venerable business, located on Cumberland Falls Hwy. just outside of Corbin, is now owned and operated by Forward Community Church.

If the idea sounds unconventional … well, it is. Sort of.

But for a church that holds its weekly Sunday services in the Tri-County Cineplex movie theater, nothing is really too out of the ordinary.

“It’s an idea that is actually catching some traction across the country, its just not as common here,” said Suzie Razmus, owner of Tri-County Cineplex, a Corbin City Commissioner and member of Forward Community Church.

“It’s just a way to help fund our mission fund and fulfill the church’s mission,” she added. “We are really excited about this venture. We have high hopes for it … We are a mission-minded church. We hope this will be an avenue to funnel that back into the community and a way to reach out to people who decide to eat there.”

The idea of churches owning other interests as a revenue stream isn’t, in itself, groundbreaking. Many have rental property and engage in other financial arrangements in order to foster passive revenue streams. But actively running a business isn’t quite as common.

Razmus said Forward was already renting a building next to The Brown Cow to use for bible study and band practices. The owners of the drive-up restaurant didn’t plan to reopen this year, so the church leased the building themselves, renovated it, tinkered with the menu and reopened it to customers Monday.

Travis McDonald, the new General Manager of the Brown Cow, said long-time customers will be glad to know that the ice cream being served is the same as its always been. The food menu, which consists of hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, onion rings and the like has been simplified to ensure quality.

“We wanted to make sure we left the same ice cream because people liked it so much,” he said. “I think a lot of the success of The Brown Cow is just its location. It’s a great place and you have a lot of people stop to get some ice cream going to and from the lake.”

McDonald said people frequently stopped to ask when The Brown Cow would open before its official opening Monday. The restaurant will be open daily, Monday through Saturday, from 11:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.