Big Car Service Center For Contemporary Culture And Community

The folks at big car know how to promote local businesses. We went to the vegetarian pitch in for the second year in a row and had a good time. We met some new friends and enjoyed a wide variety of vegetarian fare.

Big Car? Oh, you mean the place with the chicken coops.
I’ve driven past this facility several times and I always wondered about what went on inside. (The last time I visited, it was a tire center, lol) I was pleasantly surprised by what Big Car had done with the place.
I had the opportunity to participate in the Digital Disconnect event where you surrender your mobile devices for an evening of good old fashioned fun. Think board games, letter writing, and live music.
Of course, I panicked when I realized that I wanted to tweet about the event and my cell phone was nowhere to be found. But, wow. How refreshing to remember life before being connected to EVERYONE 24 hours a day.
Kudos to Big Car on a great event and on re-​purposing an unused building on the NW side. I’m looking forward to returning soon and often.

I visited this community center when going to an event about global health. This looks like a very nice place to really get the community engaged. I think place is doing a good job of revitalizing the area.

Like a newborn toddler learning to walk and then talk, it’s been fun to watch Big Car grow and develop over the last few years. I actually believe my first time to the Center was for the Unilocal 500 two or three years ago and since then I’ve been for art shows, film screenings, meetings or just to marvel at their tremendous parking lot gardens and chickens.
There’s something so raw and edgy that makes Big Car a perfect fit for its surroundings. Nestled between all of my favorite ethnic eateries and stores, the building and staff is very in tune with what is going on in Lafayette and tapping in to the diverse audience of the area.
I would have to say my favorite part about the Service Center is the simple fact that it once served as a car repair shop but is now filled with Sun King beer, a screening room, and a calendar packed with classes and events for all ages. Can’t wait to see what comes next for this creative powerhouse.

The Service Center is a very cool space and an extremely welcoming community center. They have a variety of events and activities going on most of the time. (Sign up for the Big Car newsletter to stay up to date.) The Service Center is at the forefront of Lafayette Square revitalization. The community is working hard to become a hub of international activity and to improve how it looks. So when you come to an event at the Service Center, plan to stay in the area for a meal. You’ll be overwhelmed with the options!

I went there for the Unilocal 500, on May 28, ’11.
There wasn’t much to see at the venue itself, other than the plants starting to sprout out front in the parking lot. They laid down a layer of bales of straw on the asphalt, put a layer of MULCH on top of it, then put long mounds of topsoil on top of that. Interesting concept. The straw and mulch holding water for the plants, and providing a place for roots to go if they need to go down past the topsoil layer. (Suggestion, you’re going to need 2×6’s as a border around those bales of straw, because they’ll eventually burst, and spread out, making a mess in the walk-​ways between the «islands».)
(PS: Also suggest to improve signage so people can figure out where the restrooms are.)
The concept and purpose of this place is still kind of nebulous to me. But I do want to encourage folks looking for «international flavor» to visit this part of town: Layafette Road from 30^th St up to where it intersects Georgetown, and West 38^th Street, from Lafayette Road to I-​465.
There’s a TREMENDOUS amount of ethnic restaurants, groceries, and foreign-​flavor businesses. Don’t forget to check out the International Mall (a zillion little vendor booths) in the old K-​mart building at Lafayette and 34^th, next to Saraga. There’s more to ethnic food/​businesses in this area than Mexican. Think Asian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Peruvian, African, Indian, Pakistani, too.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH for hosting the Unilocal 500!

I came here for the after party for the Chew on This dinner. What a cool use of an old Firestone! I think the Service Center is a huge step in reclaiming some of our sad, empty urban sprawl, and will absolutely help to revitalize this area. The main room (what used to be the tire show room) was set up with tables and chairs, and there was student artwork hung up around the room. There’s a room set up for showing movies, and coolest of all, outside in the parking lot they are doing huge raised beds and planting a garden on top of the asphalt! I’m excited about this project, and look forward to coming here for future events!