BEMIDJI 鈥� The first festivity is already booked in the soon-to-be-completed Fourth Street Event Center, part of a massive remodeling project in downtown Bemidji鈥檚 Elks Lodge Building.
Organizers of 100+ Women Who Care have scheduled their second fundraising event on Thursday, Nov. 14, in the expansive third-floor space.
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The 107-year-old building at the corner of Fourth Street and Beltrami Avenue was purchased by Mitch Rautio, Thamrong 鈥淜eng鈥� Dechawuth and a silent partner in 2022.
Rautio鈥檚 Back Country Construction and Development began remodeling work in February of this year. It is creating spaces for two restaurants, four boutique hotel rooms and the event venue in addition to the existing street-level retail storefronts.
The entire building will be known as the Fourth Street Lodge, harkening back to 1917 when it was constructed as the Elks Lodge. The hotel will operate under the name Fourth Street Lofts.
The project includes installation of an elevator and large windows on the second and third floors. Two of the windows in the event center are garage door-style and can be opened to bring in fresh air.
鈥淚t鈥檚 awesome when you can take an old building that many people know in our community and repurpose it,鈥� said Scott Turn, executive director of the Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 really going to be a spark for Fourth Street and the rest of downtown. It鈥檚 probably the largest private investment into downtown in many years.鈥�
Rautio, who owns several other downtown buildings, said he plans to put the finishing touches on the event center, common spaces and hotel rooms by the end of this month before focusing on completing the second-floor kitchen, bar and restaurant spaces in October.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all coming together,鈥� Rautio said during a work break this week. 鈥淚 think a lot of people are looking forward to it. I鈥檓 hearing that from at least a half dozen people every week. To see the downtown continually change and adapt and flourish, it鈥檚 cool to hear.鈥�
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Dechawuth, owner of Tara Bemidji and several other regional restaurants, will open the Blue Oyster Bar and Grill on the second floor, with large windows facing Beltrami Avenue and Fourth Street.
He said the Blue Oyster will open in late November or December. He also plans to open a casual Chick N Rice eatery on the street level in a space formerly occupied by Your Mom鈥檚 Tattoo Atelier, but says that second restaurant won鈥檛 be completed until sometime in 2025.
Dechawuth also owns the Blue Oyster Bar and Grill and a Chick N Rice restaurant in Brainerd, and Drunken Noodle restaurants in Fargo, N.D., and Crosby, Minn. He plans to offer a menu that fuses Asian and American dishes at the Bemidji Blue Oyster, and to incorporate mushrooms from his Puposky Pearl farm north of town.
The Fourth Street Loft hotel rooms will be reserved through an online system, with staff from the Blue Oyster on call if guests need assistance.
But the crowning piece of the historic structure will be the Fourth Street Event Center, with its original hardwood floor, high ceiling and large windows. Rautio said plans are in the works for monthly 鈥淓levated Market鈥� vendor events in the space. He said it also could be used for yoga and dance classes, even pickleball.
The website that will handle hotel reservations also will be used to book the event center. While that system is being developed, Rautio is fielding inquiries from individuals and groups interested in renting the space.
鈥淯ntil we get that set up people have just been calling me, which is just fine,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e had numerous phone calls about renting it already, some as early as December and one as late as next September.鈥�
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Meanwhile, Lisa Bruns and her fellow committee members are looking forward to hosting more than 100 women in the new event center on Nov. 14 for a reprise of their April event that raised $12,500 for a local nonprofit.
鈥淢itch has graciously offered the space to us without the typical fees, because of his benevolence in supporting something like this,鈥� said Bruns. 鈥淓veryone is eager to see what Mitch and company have done, and we鈥檙e excited that it will heighten the awareness of what we do.鈥�
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