FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — Hannah Gruening has been going to church on Division Street in Fond du Lac since she was young.
But now, instead of hearing church bells, she hears the sound of a lunch rush.
“It's actually crazy because I actually used to go to church here when I was a kid…I used to sit in a pew right here … and so like being back here, and the fact that they were able to reuse this building and restore it back to like a beautiful place,” Gruening said.
Hannah’s a server at the Cellar District, an American, gastropub-style restaurant near downtown inside the historic, former Immanuel Trinity Lutheran Church.
Now, instead of communion wafers, the staff dishes out flatbreads, tacos, and more as patrons admire the stained glass, vaulted ceilings, and original light fixtures.
“The archways… the original altar. We still have the original pulpit up front that we've actually converted to just modernize a little bit and restore as well. So try to keep as much of the history within the building as possible,” co-owner Sarah Palas said.
Palas said the church was remodeled to fit a restaurant after it closed in 2011, but when she and her partner Brandee Alexander moved in in 2021, they still had a lot of work to do.
“When we came in it was a very cold and empty shell. We'd actually come in July of 2021 and it was about 90 degrees outside and we were wearing jackets, mittens and hats inside because it had stayed vacant and cold for so long,” Palas said.
Palas says it’s all worth it to people in the community—like Hannah—who can reflect on the history and memories of the church.
“We get a lot of people that come here, one because of the memories too,” Palas said. “There are people that got married here that are now celebrating their anniversary dinner here.”
