WILLISTON, ND—Tens of thousands of oil workers and support staff have poured into the small cities and towns of western North Dakota. The booming populations have also created the sudden need for every type of commercial real estate including housing, retail and entertainment.
And Englewood Construction, a Lemont, IL-based firm, has started moving into the area to help fill these needs. Their restaurant group has just completed the 12,000-square-foot Williston Brewing Co., an upscale restaurant and lounge in Williston.
“Williston Brewing Co. provides a much-needed dining and entertainment option for oil field workers and their families,” says William Di Santo, president of Englewood. “We've been fortunate to take part in the area's commercial construction boom sparked by North Dakota's oil rush.”
Geologists tout this region, known as the Bakken, as the next Saudi Arabia. The United States Geological Survey estimated on April 30 that the region had 7.4 billion barrels of oil recoverable through hydraulic fracturing of the underground shale formations, a 27-year supply at the current rate of production, and about double what the agency estimated in 2008. Thousands of wells have already been drilled and as the hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” technology improves, the amount of recoverable oil will increase even more.
And the abundance of jobs fueled by the oil boom has led to a sudden spike in population. The US Census Bureau estimates Williston's population has grown from 14,700 in 2010 to 26,700 in 2012, and a North Dakota State University study stated the number could be as high as 33,000.
In addition to serving as the general contractor, Englewood also helped design the $5.2 million interior build-out and create a modern Western-themed restaurant. The space is attached to the 92-room El Rancho Hotel and features wood floors, stone fireplaces and exposed brick.
“This project helps fill the area's urgent need for quality dining and entertainment venues to serve the workers that have flocked to this remote town,” Di Santo adds. “We were able to quickly put our construction team in place to deliver the project on time and under budget.”
Owned by Williston Holding Co. and designed by Minneapolis-based Studio M. Architects, the restaurant, which opened in mid-September, seats about 335 people in a variety of spaces. A huge bar in the center of the restaurant features a counter made from a giant redwood tree and 24 televisions including three with 90-inch screens. A 21-and-over section houses a stage, mechanical bull and gaming tables. The restaurant's Buffalo Room showcases a glass-enclosed wall with a 3,000-bottle upscale wine selection.
According to Di Santo, the region's rapid growth can present challenges. Local commercial contractors are back-logged with work for two-to-three years, so commercial construction developers in North Dakota have begun turning to national commercial construction companies like Englewood.
“The owners of Williston Brewing Co. had previously worked with national commercial general contractors to develop Kona Grill restaurants across the country, so it was natural for them to turn to us,” Di Santo says. “Also, because 67 percent of our work is outside of Chicago, we were able to tap into our extensive network of 20,000 subcontractors around the country to alleviate major labor issues that would hinder other general contractors.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
