WATERLOO — Lee Columbus wasn’t planning to open a wedding venue.
As a retired insurance worker, Columbus bought an old building in Waterloo to store his cars and boats.
The building used to be the community hall, and had been abandoned since the 1970s. In 2017, Columbus bought the building and began fixing it up. A girlfriend suggested that he use it as a wedding venue.
There was a lot of renovation that took the building from an abandoned hall to a wedding venue. Columbus, along with his brother, replastered walls, built a bar downstairs and transformed the space in a few years time.
Columbus went with it, and along with creating a wedding venue, he turned the building into a space that could be used for community events, with events for the Marshall scholarship organization, participation in merchant trick or treat or hosting the historical society garage sale.
Columbus isn’t originally from Waterloo, but he enjoys the community.
“I love Waterloo,” Columbus said. “It’s been so nice to me.”