Like many other business owners, the pandemic provided Adam and Laura Stumpf a chance to rethink how they wished to expand Stumpy’s Spirits & Distillery in Columbia.

After Thursday’s Monroe County Planning Commission meeting, they are growing closer to reaching that goal.

The couple submitted a Petition for Zoning Ordinance Amendment to rezone 125.19 acres of what is currently considered A-2 agricultural land into a B-2 highway business district, where they plan to expand their storage and guest immersion capabilities. 

The land is located between FF Road and Hanover Road along Route 3. The Stumpfs’ letter of intent specifies the land is “adjacent to the Hanover Industrial Development.”

With only two naysayers, the planning commission decided to recommend this land be rezoned.

Next, the Monroe County Zoning Board of Appeals will determine at its September meeting whether to recommend passage of the amendment to the Monroe County Board. 

As Monroe County Zoning Administrator Chris Voelker explained, the county board officially determines whether or not to grant the amendment.

Should the property be rezoned, the Stumpfs plan on constructing two structures on it: a rickhouse and a 25,000-square-foot multi-purpose venue.

Adam said the rickhouse – a storage facility for aging whiskey – on the new property would support Stumpy’s efforts to increase distillery capacity. This has been a goal the couple has been gradually working toward  since their 2015 debut and is a project occurring at its existing facility. 

Currently, Stumpy’s is updating its equipment so it can produce 14 barrels of whiskey per day. Adam said in order to continue increasing production, they need more storage space.

The rickhouse will also be shown to tour attendees, as they will be able to taste whiskey directly from the barrels and much more.

The multi-level venue building will house a full-service bar/tasting room, retail shop, 350-person event venue, offices, a smaller venue and two catering kitchens. 

While he does not yet know specifics of the catering operations, Adam said he hopes to support other local businesses.

“We’re still working on exactly what the service plan of that looks like, but our ultimate goal is to really support the local businesses that have supported the facility all along and hopefully utilize local restaurants and businesses to provide that catering,” Adam said.

Overall, Adam said the proposed Stumpy’s site will be geared toward guests.

“Basically all production-related activities will happen at our existing facility, and then all visitor experience would be at the new facility,” Adam summarized.

The Stumpfs originally planned to build this event venue/tasting room concept at its existing location at 1727 Centerville Road. The pandemic and factors such as extensive parking requirements caused the couple to re-evaluate their original plan.

“We were at the point last year, right before all the COVID shutdowns happened, where the building was completely designed and we had the site laid out and everything like that,” Adam said. “We decided to pump the brakes not only because of COVID, but also just to make sure that  building a venue on our existing property here was the right move. After a lot of consideration and thinking about the future and what this could be and what our goals are and that type of thing, we decided that we really needed to be looking for a piece of property for that venue specifically.”

Then, the proposed expansion site caught their eye.

Adam said it is the perfect place for Stumpy’s “forever home” for many reasons: It is just four minutes away from the distillery, can attract people from Route 3, has plenty of room for future rickhouses as Stumpy’s production expands and offers breathtaking views of the bluffs.

Because the Stumpfs plan on preserving the natural landscape, Adam said the expansion will be “a much less intrusive development than other projects that have seriously considered the property, such as a medical campus and a larger-scale industrial complex.”

However, the expansion is not without concern from some neighbors.

In a letter addressed to Voelker, Christopher Howell, owner of a neighboring farm, listed multiple concerns. Of these concerns, Voelker said the one he has been asked about the most is traffic.

Voelker said the congestion off Route 3 is a common concern in the community regardless of whether Stumpy’s develops the land in question. As part of the rezoning process, a traffic study was required from a third-party firm. 

Adam explained the study found that even at maximum traffic, which would include the number of cars going to the site if it were to be at max capacity along with other traffic that routinely uses Route 3, a traffic signal would not be required at the intersection of Hanover Road and Route 3.

Such traffic concerns are another reason why Adam is advocating for another entrance in addition to the one currently being planned off of Midway Boulevard in the Hanover Industrial Complex. He hopes an entrance directly onto Route 3 will be approved.

“That’s just to help alleviate any traffic concerns or conjunction or anything. That would be the ultimate goal: to have two ways in and out of the property,” Adam said.

IDOT has already said Stumpy’s would not be able to use an existing ag approach on Route 3 across from Klohr-Toen Lane for business purposes.

“If I were building a house back there we could make that our driveway, but because we’re a business, we cannot utilize that,” Adam said. “The only way we would be able to utilize that as a business is if the county would extend a road or street to that entrance and then the county road would run through our property basically, and that is a potential solution we are looking at.”

Howell’s letter also voiced concern about noise and light pollution.

Adam said any parking lot lighting and other light sources would adhere to the county’s zoning and building codes and he would make sure no lights would be angled towards others’ residences.

In order to prevent excess noise, Adam said they will be working with a specialized company to ensure noise does not become a large problem.

“Our design team is working with an acoustics engineering company to make sure noise is managed not only in the venue, but outside the venue as well,” Adam said. “That has to do a lot with some materials that we are using during construction that are kind of abnormal to be able to absorb as much (sound) as possible, because what could happen is basically if you have a large, solid structure, it kind of turns into a subwoofer box, for lack of a better term. We don’t want that to happen, obviously, so we’re working with that engineering company and spending a little extra money just to make sure not only our guests have the best experience possible, but also our neighbors.”

Adam said Stumpy’s prioritizes being good neighbors and is willing to discuss the concerns of nearby residents.

“One of the things we talk about here at our existing facility is we try to be as absolute best neighbors as possible to everybody, and that’s not going to change with that other facility as well. Our family lives around our existing facility and a lot of people we have gotten very close to over the years (do too) … so being cooperative with our neighbors is absolutely one of our biggest goals.”

The Stumpy’s rezoning petition will be discussed at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting set for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 1 at the Monroe County Courthouse.