One of the most anticipated additions to the local business scene has finally arrived as Old Monroe Distilling Co. opened its new location to the public this past weekend, serving as an event venue and tasting room its owners hope will attract plenty of tourism to the area.

Owned and operated by Laura and Adam Stumpf, Old Monroe’s new location at 8787 Rickhouse Road between Columbia and Waterloo has been in the works for a very long time, with the plans first forming not long after the original Stumpy’s Spirits began about a decade ago.

As Adam explained, that time has been spent making sure the new building is precisely how they wanted it.

“Our very first invoice for this project was dated 2018, so it’s been a long time,” Adam said. “We always said, if we’re gonna do it, we wanna do it the right way, not cut any corners, make sure the aesthetic is exactly what we envisioned and not have to compromise.”

Adam pointed to Laura as the mastermind behind the building’s aesthetic and design.

She previously spoke with the Republic-Times to discuss the location and much of the design – particularly discussing the Bourbon Ballroom, the large venue designed with weddings and other big events in mind.

Laura noted the “vintage modern” aesthetic of the space with the warm tones and wooden features meant to give an “elegant and timeless” look, and the abundance of natural light from the room’s many windows help contribute to that feel while also offering scenic views of rural Monroe County.

Notable features in the ballroom also include the chandeliers, the grand staircase and the beams at the top of the ceiling which take on a distinct arched shape when viewed from the second floor.

Amenities include a connected catering kitchen and a matching pair of bars.

The staircase leads up to the similarly-styled second floor which has been designed with wedding days in mind.

At one corner of the floor is the groom’s room, with space for him and his groomsmen to get ready and enjoy a cigar on the balcony.

The room for the bride and her bridesmaids received particular attention, with a glazed glass door to prevent any pre-ceremony peeking and one wall lined with four mirrors and seats to prepare hair and makeup. Even the location of the room was specially designed, placed in the building to allow for natural light but not direct, overpowering sunlight.

In the central part of this wedding-prep space, the first floor is visible below, the tasting-room bar and storefront having a slightly darker aesthetic.

Featuring plenty of bar space, a seating area and a corner where guests can purchase some liquor to-go, the tasting room is much more of a modern bar. Adam pointed out the copper-lined bar and the pattern of the floor meant to match.

Down in the basement is the currently unnamed space the Stumpfs have been referring to simply as the speakeasy.

This space has a still different aesthetic from the tasting room, with the emphasis placed on capturing the feel of an old-school speakeasy, featuring plenty of leather seating and lighting intended to look vintage.

Adam noted the basement event space was designed with the above ballroom in mind, with plenty of sound cushioning in the space between such that, as he said, folks in the speakeasy during a recent event in the ballroom could scarcely hear what was going on upstairs.

With so much effort having gone into making the building the ideal home for their business, Laura was quite positive about how the first big opening went.

“This weekend was fabulous,” Laura said. “We couldn’t have asked for it to go any better. The turnout was great, a lot of people came. I think they loved the drinks.”

She noted that the past few weeks leading up to the opening have been fairly smooth, with the Stumpfs and staff just fine-tuning things and getting their cocktail list straight.

Adam likewise had good things to say about both the bar and the venue as they’ve now been through both tasting room nights and several events.

“We’ve had a couple of events already, both in the ballroom and the speakeasy, and of course we opened to the public this weekend for the very first time,” Adam said. “Everything has gone absolutely fantastic. One of the big drivers of that is our team. We made sure that we’ve got the best team in place… from the event side of things all the way to the bar of the tasting room.’

Both Adam and Laura had great things to say about the folks they’ve worked with throughout the project, with the newest addition being Grazeful Gatherings in Columbia providing food options in the tasting room.

Adam expressed their thanks to everyone who’s had a hand in the project over the past few years.

“Everybody that we’ve worked with along the way has been absolutely fantastic,” Adam said. “Our contractor has been absolutely phenomenal. The county’s been great to deal with. It’s been a lot of work, yes, but there have been a lot of great people involved in the project to get here.”

The business now in full swing at its new home, Laura said the Stumpfs still have further plans for the space, adding to their offerings in terms of events and making their patio area even better as they strive to attract folks to both their own business and the rest of the county.

“I think this is a great start. We definitely want to add to what we have now, and when I say that I mean expand on our patio, we want to start offering more events to the public, some pop-up events in our basement speakeasy venue, really any way to drive tourism out to this space we’re definitely looking forward to,” Laura said.

Old Monroe Distilling Co. is currently open at 8787 Rickhouse Road, Columbia, from 12-9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 12-6 p.m. Sunday.

The original location of Stumpy’s Spirits at 1727 Centerville is now closed to the public.