ROCKFORD — A roughly century-old former school building and community center is set to be torn down to make way for a new Culver’s Restaurant on the city’s south side.
Jimmy and Nichole Smith, who run Culver’s in the village of Winnebago, purchased the former Ken-Rock Community Center and Morris Kennedy School last month in preparation to open their second location. The building was most recently Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Academy, but it has been vacant for years.
They plan to move forward with demolition this fall in hopes of opening the dual-lane drive-thru restaurant in spring 2027. They expect it to employ about 70 people…