The owner of an Ohio funeral home that recently applied for a liquor license said the move has sparked conversation among funeral industry insiders as they look to make their venues more personable to family and friends of the deceased. 

Hunter Triplett, owner and CEO of Evergreen Funeral, Cremation and Reception in Columbus, Ohio, told Fox News Digital that he grew up in the cemetery business and was exposed to a variety of funeral homes over the years.

One thing he kept noticing was that people would often go from a funeral or memorial service to a bar, restaurant or event space to continue honoring their loved one. 

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“The idea of the liquor license is so that we can have a champagne (toast) on behalf of a loved one, as well as, you know, if somebody had a signature cocktail that they were always seen with,” said Triplett. 

Evergreen Funeral, Cremation and Reception, set to open in 2025, is in the location of a former chocolate factory, Triplett told Fox News Digital. He said there is “ample space” within the building for a reception following a memorial service. 

“The idea was just to stand out among the other funeral homes in the area by offering services like this,” he continued. 

The facility also has a “robust” kitchen, meaning that catering for funeral receptions will also be available. 

“It’s a reception center within a funeral home,” he said. 

“I think you have to follow what the consumer says.” 

Speaking to families of the recently deceased, Triplett found that “a lot of them like the celebration of life. They like the humanistic aspects of the way the funeral service is going,” he said. 

“And I think you have to follow what the consumer says.” 

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He said the response to the media attention regarding his liquor license application has been largely positive, both from residents of central Ohio and others in the funeral industry. 

“Other funeral professionals have asked me, ‘How can I do the same that you are?’” Triplett told Fox News Digital. 

A funeral home in Ohio will also include a reception center, its owner and CEO said.  (iStock)

Fox News Digital reached out to the National Funeral Directors Association seeking comment.

Some other funeral homes said they’ve had success making alcohol available to grieving family members and friends.

“It’s not a shot and a beer. It’s an enhancement.”

Jon Kolssak, owner of Kolssak Funeral Home in Wheeling, Illinois, north of Chicago, told Fox News Digital he’s recently started doing mimosa memorials at the request of customers.

“It’s not about focusing on the alcohol being served,” Kolssak said. “It’s about celebrating a life well-lived.”

Kolssak’s bar can be moved, and a catering company handles the beverages so he and his team can focus on what they do best.

A bar with liquor options is available at Kolssak Funeral Home in Wheeler, Illinois. (Jon Kolssak)

“It’s not a shot and a beer,” Kolssak said. “It’s an enhancement.”

Triplett also pointed out that the idea is not to turn the funeral home into a bar. 

“So there is a funeral service and a memorial service. Funeral services are where the body is present, and a memorial service is where it’s not,” he said. 

“A lot of families are less comfortable with [an] open casket and a lot of them have an urn up at the front and say a kind of final word.” 

It would be this sort of more casual environment where the bar would be available, he said.

Alcohol will not be available, however, if a family opts to do a series of events in different locations, such as a visitation, a funeral and then a burial. 

One funeral home owner said other funeral industry professionals have reached out to him to inquire about getting their own liquor licenses.  (iStock)

“We won’t offer [alcohol service] because people will be driving from one facility to another,” he said. 

“The only time it will be offered is when the services that are provided stay at this facility and only on [these] premises until the end.” 

Families can also opt against alcohol service if they do not want to have it at a memorial, Triplett said. 

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“The bar is on wheels,” he said. “We can roll it away if somebody is uncomfortable with it.” 

Diane Gottsman, an etiquette expert and founder of the Protocol School of Texas in San Antonio, told Fox News Digital that “it’s not the norm” to be offered alcohol at a funeral home – and it comes with the risk of suggesting a bar or party atmosphere.

“Having an open bar at a funeral home sets a different tone.”

“Having an open bar at a funeral home sets a different tone,” she said.

Triplett stressed that it’s a traditional funeral home.

“We’re just offering food and drink services that enhance and help the personalization aspect of a funeral service,” he said. 

Evergreen Funeral, Cremation and Reception has not yet been approved for a liquor license, according to the Ohio Liquor Control’s permit database. 

Three other Ohio funeral homes, which also have on-site event space for receptions, have been previously granted liquor licenses, per the Ohio Liquor Control’s database. 

MIDTOWN (WXYZ) — At Detroit Historical Museum, 74-year-old Peter Dudley really knows how to keep things on track.

“Yes, I’ve been a volunteer since 1997, which was the year we built the current exhibit,” says Dudley.

The Glancy Trains exhibit has been a crowd favorite for years. 13 trains moving along 12 electric-powered tracks, all thanks to a team of 3 volunteers.

“The main thing the volunteers do is to keep the trains running,” said Dudley.

From keeping the tracks clean to repairing the trains, Dudley is always busy in his workshop over the weekends.

They go from zero to 35 mph in a split second, which is another reason we have to make sure they don’t derail, said Dudley.

The collection, which dates back to the mid-1900s, belonged to Alfred Glancy Jr., a real estate financier and former owner of the Empire State Building in New York City. Detroit Historical Society’s Rebecca Salminen-Witt says Glancy enjoyed hosting “train parties” for friends and family each holiday season at his home in Grosse Pointe Shores. After his death in 1973, the Glancy family donated the set.

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“Every kid who comes here wants to see these trains, Mr. Glancy was obviously a train guy himself. His children actually are still involved with the museum. They still love these trains, visit them and support them,” said Salminen-Witt.

Salminen-Witt says that as the exhibit grows, thanks to donations from various sources, it truly highlights Detroit’s rich history.

“Most people are really excited about the renaissance that they are seeing at Michigan Central Station. They were developing that train station right at the cusp between train travel, railroad travel and the beginning of the automotive, well as we know the cars took over,” said Salminen-Witt.

And it turns out a lot of Detroit’s history is baked into the exhibit.

“We’ve got that big tire, people are familiar with on your way to the airport, you pass on I94, on the other end of the exhibit, we have the big stove. So, Detroit was the stove manufacturing capital of the country. And, of course, trains hauled those stoves everywhere,” said Salminen-Witt.

“I often come out from behind, from the workshop, and I talk to people about local Detroit railroad history,” said Dudley.

“Does this remind you of your childhood?” asked Faraz Javed, 7 News Detroit reporter.

“I received my first train as a christmas present from my grandparents. That particular December we traveled on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad leaving from Michigan Central Station,” said Dudley.

Now, the Glancy Train exhibit runs year-round at the Detroit Historical Museum. And Dudley says they are always in need of volunteers. To find out how you can become one, just head to this website.

MILWAUKEE – A 25-year-old Milwaukee man is accused of shooting another man near a gas station near 14th and North. The accused is Dreaten Burch – and he faces a single charge of first-degree reckless injury.

According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police responded on Sunday evening, Dec. 8 to a shooting near 14th and North Avenue. Officers spoke with relatives of the shooting victim who came home with a gunshot wound to his face. They believed he had been at a nearby gas station.

That same night, a detective went to Froedtert Hospital where the shooting victim was being treated for his wound. He indicated he “exchanged words with the driver of a white vehicle, then ran west on North Avenue and got shot in the face as he ran,” the complaint says. The victim said he did not see who shot him.

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Milwaukee police responded to the Citgo gas station near 14th and North and reviewed surveillance video showing the suspect and victim. The complaint says the “video shows that at about 5:31 p.m., a man walks into Citgo, then leaves and walks through the parking lot. At about 5:33 p.m., a white vehicle turns into the parking lot and appears to nearly strike the man in the parking lot, who has to avoid the vehicle. The vehicle parks, then a suspect exits the driver’s door, then heads in the same direction as the first man.”

Investigators found a casing and unspent cartridge northeast of the intersection of 14th and North. Police “later found additional surveillance video showing the man and suspect heading to this location, and showing the man returning to the white vehicle,” the complaint says.

Investigators reviewed photos of the suspect vehicle. They also queried the Flock Safety database and found a matching vehicle within three days of the incident. Officers had previously stopped the vehicle — and identified the driver as Dreaten Burch.

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Burch was arrested on Dec. 9. When police tried to question him about the shooting incident at the gas station, Burch “said he may have been at the gas station and may have been in the car, but he didn’t know about anything else,” the complaint says.

Burch made his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Saturday, Dec. 14. Cash bond was set at $10,000.