For months, the former Pizza Hut near downtown Manitowoc has been nothing more than a roof on stilts.
The local franchise owner put the building at 1022 Washington Street up for sale in April of 2024, and officially announced its planned move to its current location at the corner of Calumet Avenue and South 35th Street three months later.
The new restaurant opened in November of 2024, but the old building sat empty. Eventually, the property was purchased by Ziggi’s Coffee, which submitted a design application for the building in February of 2025.
Mayor Justin Nickels tells us that the owners have stumbled into some setbacks in regard to their plans.
“They thought, at first, that they could just renovate the building as was,” he explained. “When they started digging inside, they realized it might be a little more difficult, so they thought, ‘Well, we can save a good chunk of the building’ and build how their layout and format is. But then, as they got even further, they realized it’s probably not possible at all.”
As for why they left the roof intact and put it on pallets, Mayor Nickels explained, “That’s on their end,” but also noted, “According to our ordinances, when you pull a building permit, you have a year to complete a project usually. So it’s not like they’re doing anything on the city’s end that is cause for concern necessarily. They’ve been communicating with the city…it’s just they ran into so many different issues, and they thought.”
As for what’s next, Mayor Nickels admitted, “Whether they realized they can save the roof or not, I don’t know at this point.”
The Mayor did say that they are expected to be back to work on the project this spring.
That property has had a long history of hosting various businesses.
The Manitowoc County Historical Society documents note that the original building on that property was constructed in 1899 and became known as the Oberland Building.
Over its lifetime, the building was home to quite a few different businesses, starting as a wholesale liquor dealership, owned and operated by the Oberland brothers, Emanuel and Edward, who immigrated to Manitowoc from Austria.
However, a few months before Prohibition, Edward closed the liquor store and began in the resort business, while Emanuel continued to operate a liquor and variety store on the first floor, with the second and third floors being residences.
The Oberland building was eventually sold in 1928 and became the Walter Genrich Pharmacy, before once again being sold in 1931 to Theodore Schadeberg, who turned it into the Manitowoc School of Music.
The Oberland Building at 1022 Washington Street, Manitowoc
Photo Taken July 25, 1939
The Oberland building went back to its alcoholic roots in 1933, when it was turned back into a tavern, known as Loef’s Spa.
That tavern would remain until 1946, when Edward’s wife, Emma Oberland, would buy it once again and withdraw the liquor license.
In the 1950s, the Oberland building would begin its final chapter, as Busse Television, Radio, and Appliances took over, giving them a second location, aside from their store on Washington Street in Two Rivers.
The long and eccentric history of the building would come to an end in the 1970s when the building was torn down to make space for a Pizza Hut, which stood until its (halfway) demolition last year.
The Oberland legacy lives on at the Manitowoc County Historical Society, as they are in possession of the original Oberland sign that adorned the top of the building throughout its life.
