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The owners hope to throw open the former church's massive red doors to customers by the end of the month.

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The glossy surfaces at Grace reflect the light of 27 stained-glass windows.

enlarge Photos by Doug Jones/Staff Photographer

The 35-seat circular bar at Grace, designed especially for the space, is spanned by the three petals of a triquetra, a triangular symbol adopted by owners Anne and Peter Verrill as the restaurant’s logo.

It's hard to know what diners will notice first when they step inside Grace, a new restaurant opening soon in the historic Chestnut Street United Methodist Church.

There's a stunning 35-seat circular bar designed especially for the restaurant, which takes up a good portion of the nave. There's an open kitchen splayed across the former altar and set off by decorative organ "pipes," an appropriate setting for Portland foodies who can now literally worship their daily bread.

The mid-20th-century pulpit? It's now a hostess stand.

There are 27 stained-glass windows, including a 150-year-old rose window thought to originate from Florence. There are period fixtures, including immense chandeliers with oblong lights suspended from the ceiling, and two brick-lined turrets that look as if Quasimodo could be hiding in them.

Grace has been undergoing a $2 million, inside-and-out historic renovation since September. All the passersby who have been craving a peek inside will soon get their wish. Anne Verrill, who owns the old church with her husband Peter, says they are hoping to debut the 175-seat restaurant during the last week of June.

When the massive red doors open, patrons of Grace will be able to choose from a seasonal menu prepared by New York Chef Eric Simeon, a wine list that includes about 20 wines by the glass, and a selection of beers and specialty cocktails. In a nod to the building's origins, one of the nonalcoholic offerings will be Holy Tea, a specialty infusion from Homegrown Herb and Tea that includes the herb holy basil.

"It's going to be affordable food – a little higher-end experience, I think, but really affordable," Verrill said. "We're going to offer a lot of appetizers and small plates, and maybe a dessert menu, just to capture that Merrill Auditorium crowd."

ORIGINAL PEWS INCORPORATED

The church's original pews have been reupholstered, and will provide banquet seating downstairs. Two special tables will abut the low wall of the kitchen, giving diners who sit there a first-class view of their food as it's prepared.

The bar was designed by Ryan Wither and Paul Lewin of Tivi, who are friends of the Verrills. It was built in Denver, then trucked to Portland and assembled at Grace during the last week of April.

The bar itself is made of concrete, in six sections weighing about 500 pounds each. The three petals of a triquetra are bolted to the bar and will be awash in light, echoing the design of two of the church's stained-glass windows. This symmetrical, triangular form, which looks something like a trillium flower, has been found in religions from paganism to Buddhism and Christianity, and the Verrills have decided to use it as their logo.

Upstairs on the mezzanine, there will be a lounge and more dining space, with patrons sitting at tables made of recycled cardboard.

In the back of the church, just below the rose window, there will be a service bar. The church's two turrets, once used as coal chutes, are being retrofitted for wine storage.

The Verrills also own and operate the Foreside Tavern in Falmouth. In autumn 2007, they were searching for just the right spot to open a new restaurant in the Portland area, and had about given up hope when their Realtor called and suggested they check out the old church.

The place was in bad shape. There was no heat, air conditioning, electricity, gas or water.

"A lot of windows had been broken," Anne Verrill said. "Some pigeons had come in here and destroyed it. Bums lived in it. You name it."

Nevertheless, the couple fell in love with the building's potential, and they decided that same day that they would make an offer. They paid $675,000 for the property, then had to think about financing the renovations.

"We went to about eight different banks," Verrill said. "I always sing Norway Savings Bank's praises, because they were the only ones...