A refresh is coming to Stage Left Cafe at the Woodstock Opera House.

Stage Left Cafe, which is connected to the Opera House building, first opened in 2003, but Opera House leaders have long hoped to update it.

Chris Tiedt, engineering director for the city, said a study of both the Opera House and Stage Left Cafe as a whole was done a couple years ago. The study identified the possibility of relocating the stage and bar, Tiedt said. The stage is at the front of the venue next to the front door, while the bar is in the back.

“It didn’t really lend itself to a very conducive environment,” Tiedt said, adding the study also suggested making the space more “multi-functional.”

Other potential upgrades include new lighting and carpeting.

The Opera House side of the city-owed building was renovated in 2024. About $7 million in needs for the building were identified, but half of that was addressed in those renovations.

Woodstock received a state grant of about $1.05 million in April 2025 to convert Stage Left Cafe and the west annex to a reception and bar area. The grant also includes funding for three interactive kiosks on The Woodstock Square, state officials said at the time.

But the city needs to provide just under $350,000 in matching funds for the grant, according to city documents.

Most of the grant is going to Stage Left, with $897,750 in grant money and about $289,400 in matching funds earmarked for that project, according to city documents. About $150,000 in grant money and just under $60,000 in matching funds are meant for the kiosks.

The Woodstock City Council recently approved an agreement for architectural and engineering services for the Stage Left renovations, but spending was among the top issues identified at the Council.

Council member Bob Seegers said that the way he sees it, the city is spending $289,000 of its money “only” to get the $1 million that’s going to Stage Left.

“I could find a whole lot of needs for a million bucks in the city other than rehabbing Stage Left Cafe. The unfortunate thing is we don’t get the million bucks,” Seegers said.

He asked if the city had exhausted all other possible options for the grant, but was told it was very specific.

Seegers later asked what the likelihood of generating revenue from that $289,000, and said in his experience, “there isn’t any.”

Mayor Mike Turner said earlier Seegers’ comments had validity, acknowledging it can be frustrating for the city to have to spend money on a specific project to receive a grant. However, he said that with improvements at the facility, he predicted total revenues and activity at the building would be up 30% in five years.

Turner said the city sometimes gets opportunities for “targeted investment,” and the city has to decide if it’s worth it.

With regards to Stage Left, the mayor said the question is whether the city will see improvements that will benefit residents and users. Most importantly, Turner said, “Does it drive economics in the future for that particular facility?”

He agreed he would rather have the money to spend as the Council sees fit, but he said that’s not how it works.

Council member Gregg Hanson said he supported the architectural agreement, but had issues with a lack of opportunities for members of the public to share input.

Hanson said the taxpayers of Woodstock are the stakeholders and are people the city should get opinions from regularly. He said residents would have a lot to say.

“The stakeholders have sustained and maintained the Opera House. It wouldn’t exist without the taxpayers, and I don’t like to see them out,” Hanson said.

City records indicate construction bidding for the project is expected to come in the spring, with work anticipated to start later in Fiscal 2026-27.