From pizza place to office space

A former Pizza Hut building near St. Mary’s Church in Bismarck is in the process of being repurposed as a new parish office space, Eucharistic adoration chapel and parking space through a $600,000 renovation of the property underway at the corner of 9th Street and Broadway Avenue.

An August completion is planned for the project that began in March 2020.

The former eatery will house offices for the priests and staff, a conference room and separate adoration chapel. All will be available on one floor.

Purchase

While the parish purchased the property in 2012, the building continued to operate as a restaurant for approximately five years. During this time, parking was only allowed in the parking lot on Sunday mornings, because the restaurant was open for business in the afternoon and evenings. The long-term vision for the property at the time of the purchase, however, was twofold:  the eventual ability to have additional parking for parish use, as well as the ability to expand the parish campus and use the existing building for parish use.

“One of the challenges in a downtown location is that you are kind of landlocked, especially in terms of parking,” Fr. Jared Johnson, pastor of St. Mary’s, explained. “When the Pizza Hut location across the street came up for sale, part of the big reason we picked it up was for additional parking.”

After the purchase, the restaurant chain continued to run there for several more years at the site via a lease agreement with the parish. Leasing the building back to the restaurant chain helped pay for some of the purchase costs, Fr. Johnson said.
 
The restaurant ceased operating in late 2017.
 
Use of the building

Plans for the property evolved. When Fr. Johnson came to the parish in July 2018, it became clear the parish needed to decide and move forward with a plan.

Father Johnson said the first plan mulled was to use it as a parish center that could be used for funeral luncheons, Knights of Columbus breakfasts and such. Yet, that option proved redundant.

“We have a gathering space here (in the church) that was added in 2003. Part of that renovation was a multi-purpose room which was very equivalent in size to what the dining portion would have been of this parish center,” Fr. Johnson said.

Cold North Dakota winters made it more conducive to hold luncheons inside the church where the funeral was held instead of crossing the busy Broadway Avenue.
 
Fundraising
 
A feasibility study followed and a new plan was hatched. It proposed renovating the former Pizza Hut for parish offices and an adoration chapel. Numerous meetings, surveys, mailings, home visits and question/answer sessions involved parishioners. 

“We wanted to make sure we had parish support. We got a very strong response from parishioners saying that this is a great idea. ‘We’ll support it. We’ll support it financially.’ Once we had confidence from parishioners that this is something they were behind, we then went forward with some fundraising efforts,” Fr. Johnson said.

He describes fundraising as a traditional capital campaign spanning five years. “We had a capital campaign committee, but I did a lot of the meeting with parishioners. They’d come here. I’d go to their homes and see if they had any questions or concerns. I’d explain. Then, they would make a decision about how they could support this project.”

Aging office space

The former Pizza Hut building will house offices for the pastor, associate pastor, business manager, four other staff offices, a conference room and the Adoration chapel with a separate entrance on the west side of the building.

Existing parish offices at St. Mary’s originally functioned as a rectory for priests. The former rectory, built in 1918, is not handicap-accessible and can be cumbersome for both staff and people they serve.

“A lot of the offices are upstairs. They are small, old bedrooms. It’s not a very conducive place for the staff to have their offices. It’s kind of like working in a house,” Fr. Johnson said. “For this building to last another 100 years, it needs some serious updating as well. The long-term plan would be to restore this (building) back to the priests’ home.”

Adoration chapel

What the parish also lacks is a quiet place for Eucharistic adoration, according to Fr. Johnson. There is a demand to spend special quiet time in prayer with the Blessed Sacrament. That silent devotion is important, he said.

“The Eucharist is the real presence of Christ. For us to grow in our friendship with Jesus, for us to grow in holiness, it is essential to spend time with Jesus. It is important for our parish to provide opportunities for its people to grow in holiness. Really, nothing else matters other than that,” Fr. Johnson noted.
For adoration to be successful, it needs its own location so that it can be consistent and regular, he explained. Existing church space is not ideal for a quiet prayer time. It would be interrupted by school events, weddings, wedding rehearsals, funerals and cleaning.

“To have a separate location where we can have adoration take place every day in a certain timeframe, and you can rely on that is a really important aspect.”

Those using the private, west chapel entrance will be provided their own electronic key for safety and privacy.

For now, Fr. Johnson said perpetual adoration is not planned at the future chapel, only daytime and early evening hours. But, it’s designed where that could be an option. 

Goals

Father Johnson said the one-level office space will create more stability for staff to complete tasks, create a better work environment, improve work ethic and better serve people of the parish.

“A big point is the adoration chapel. I think a lot of parishioners were most excited about this because of the chapel and the opportunities it provides them on a spiritual level. It’s huge.”

Parishioner Cheryl Fenster strongly favors the project. “I do support it. I think the office space we have now is very outdated. We have problems with accessibility and others getting in and out of offices. A lot of the office space is on the second level,” she said, noting the new one-level space will benefit everyone and people can park right next to the building.

“The new office space will make it easier for people to see who they want to see, and it includes the adoration chapel as well,” she added.

She noted the money was raised for the renovation just a few months after capital campaign launched. She credits Fr. Johnson for containing project costs. “He has a good vision for that property. The cost was much lower than other uses being considered.”
Mike Wolf, a parishioner for 25 years, echoes that sentiment. “I think it will be easier for parishioners to access offices. The current offices are at multi-levels. The new offices are at one level.”

Wolf describes the plan as a conservative means for the staff to operate more efficiently.

“We met and exceeded the goal farther than anyone expected.” He added that the chapel will be one of the biggest blessings for the St. Mary’s parishioners. “People can have regular times for adoration.”

Future of St. Mary’s

The city’s oldest parish continues to thrive and the recent addition of office space and adoration chapel will enhance parish life.

“We serve in the heart of downtown Bismarck. We have a lot of foot traffic. It’s a busy place with both hospitals being close by. To provide a place for the residents of Bismarck to pray in the middle of the day, to take time out of their day and spend time with Jesus is something we are excited about,” Fr. Johnson said.

Father Johnson was previously a chaplain at St. Mary’s Central High School and the former restaurant already had unique ties to the diocese. “Every year, during Holy Week, I’d take the junior class on a church walk where we would walk to all five parishes in Bismarck. We would stop in the middle of the day at Pizza Hut. We would bring 90 kids into that restaurant for pizza and keep on walking to the next church.”

He added, “I guess I never dreamt that someday we would oversee turning it into a church office and adoration chapel.”

He was inspired by the generosity of the St. Mary’s congregation for this project. “We raised the funds with the capital campaign and all through the parishioners.” 

Father Johnson and Parochial Vicar Fr. Jarad Wolf are excited to see the parish move forward and meeting the needs of its families and future families looking to join St. Mary’s.