Shoppers’ Heaven : Church Plans to Join Pool Hall and Gun Shop in Simi Mall

Pastor Ken Craft sees it as just another example of how the Lord works in mysterious ways.

His Simi Valley church is planning to move from a junior high school to a shopping center--next to a liquor store, pool hall and gun shop.

The Simi Valley Planning Commission this week gave the Sonrise Christian Fellowship permission to move from Sequoia Junior High School to the K mart Shopping Center at the northwest corner of Tierra Rejada and Madera roads.

“I think that a church can flourish anywhere. You can have a nice church in a nice residential area, but if it’s a dead church, people aren’t going to go,” Craft said.

Sonrise Christian Fellowship’s one-year lease with the school expired in April, and it has been operating on a six-month extension since.

“We were looking for a new location as soon as we got into the school because we knew we only had a year,” Craft said.

The main advantage of being in an outdoor shopping mall is the visibility, Craft said. “People will know that we’re around. Now we’ll have good signage on the main thoroughfare 24 hours a day.”

Being near such businesses as a liquor store and a pool hall with a bar doesn’t upset the 27-year-old pastor because “hopefully they’ll go to church after they go to the liquor store.”

But that’s not what the owner of the liquor store thinks.

Rishi Sharma, owner of Venture Liquor, is upset at the idea of a church moving into the center, only a few feet away from where he sells alcohol and Lotto tickets.

Sharma, whose store is open Sundays, complained, “It’s ridiculous to have a church here. It’s not logical. They will drive away the customers if they say liquor is bad, is a sin.”

Don Sakamoto, owner of the Side Pocket billiards hall, which also houses a bar, said he has no problem with a church as a neighbor. “They don’t operate the same hours we do,” he said.

“Heck, I’m from Salt Lake City. They put the churches next to girlie bars there,” said Loren (Butch) Lemen, a Simi Valley resident who is a regular at the pool hall.

“My grandfather is a preacher and he fights bars,” said Lemen, who admitted that he hasn’t set foot inside a church in 12 years. “But I doubt that anyone from this church is going to fight here,” he added.

Craft agreed.

“I’m not your typical Bible-thumping preacher that pounds people from the pulpit. . . . We’re not going to condemn anybody. That’s not our posture or position. And we’re definitely not going to have an adverse effect on business,” Craft said. “If anything, we’re going to help business.”

Although the dry cleaners next to the church is closed Sundays, just being there will probably mean added business from church members during the week, said Bill Magalogo, manager of 777 Cleaners.

Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurant will also probably gain some business from the church, said Dick Houston, vice president of ShowBiz Pizza Time Inc., which owns the restaurant.

“When we first heard about this, we were a little concerned about parking, but we set up a meeting with the pastor and the manager there and we ended up feeling real good about it,” Houston said.

The biggest drawback so far has been the lack of parking, Craft said. At Sequoia Junior High School there are plenty of spaces because the school is empty on weekends, but K mart and most of the other businesses in the center are open Sundays as well.

The mall is already crowded during peak hours, so the city and the landlord are requiring that church members park behind the shops rather than in the lot on Sundays.

Craft admitted that not all of his flock would do that, but 80% of his 300-member congregation would obey the rules, he said. There will also be parking attendants in the lot to direct people to the back for Sunday services, Craft said.

Mall parking on Sundays is already difficult, so the church probably won’t make a difference either way, said Steve Cotter, owner of Hilldale Discount Gun Sales. His business probably won’t be affected at all, Cotter said.

He added, “I think it’s unusual to have a church here, but there’s still freedom of religion in this country.”