WKRN – Discover the article and full video coverage 

What does the word restoration mean to you? Perhaps it means to turn something old, maybe forgotten into something exciting and new?

That’s exactly what the team of Anchor Investments does with the properties they acquire. A few are old churches turned boutique hotels.

Why knock it down when you have the opportunity to pay tribute to beauty and history?

“We have loved buying these old churches, which are sadly closing down these days. Their congregants have moved out of the area and we wanted to repurpose these churches so they can still have a ministry impact but turn them into a commercial business,” says Lacher.

506 Lofts, The Russell, and The Gallatin are all part of that story and if you’ve had the chance of staying in one of them, then you know that they are anything but average.

“We try to honor everything we can,” says Lacher. “Like at The Russell, all the beds are made out of the old church pews. The stained glass, we redid all the stained glass windows.”

At The Gallatin, original photographs are on display, with a modern flair and neon lights.

But that’s not all.

“We give the majority of the profits away to underserved communities, mainly the homeless community in Nashville,” says Lacher.

All three properties make up Mission Hotels. Their mission: reimagine hospitality while restoring communities. They partner with local ministries like Nashville Rescue Mission, Shower Up, People Loving Nashville, Room In The Inn, Nashville YoungLives, and MapleBuilt.

“It’s been super impactful for people to think, ‘I’m laying here in this hotel tonight, there’s someone downtown who would not have had a bed to lay in otherwise.’” said Lacher.

And they are not slowing down! Announcements of a fourth hotel have been made. This time to bring restoration to another East Nashville church called Tulip Street United Methodist Church. Tentative opening date of 2023 has been made.”

Read the article at WKRN.