As Hundreds of Churches Sit Empty, Some Become Malls and Restaurants

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Lisa Tofano was baptized, confirmed and married at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on Lake Opeka in Des Plaines, Ill. When she and her husband, John, visited the church last fall, however, it wasn’t to worship but rather to celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary at what the church had become: the Foxtail on the Lake, a restaurant. The transformation was not easy: The shuttered church needed an 18-month, $6 million gut renovation, and a new 3,000-square-foot kitchen, before it could start offering items like paella and beef shawarma, said David Villegas, a managing partner of Foxtail, who said he had been “a bit nervous” before the restaurant’s opening in November about the reaction of former parishioners. For Mrs. Tofano, though, “a church is more about the people than the building,” she said. Across the country, the number of empty churches and other houses of worship is sharply rising, and these structures, often unique architectural gems, have become huge draws for business owners.