If you are one of the myriad people who have approached the team at Watermark Brewing Company over the last three years in hopes of hosting a wedding reception, major party, or some other private event inside the wildly popular brewery building in downtown Stevensville, your prayers have been answered.
The team at Watermark elected early on to establish a policy to turn aside requests for wedding receptions and other private affairs on premise because they didn’t want to disappoint their regulars and turn away regular business. They wanted to be certain that Watermark could always be considered to be your go-to spot. Now…they are literally doubling down on Stevensville and answering private party requests with a huge “Yes!” in the form of the forthcoming new Watermark Solarium for The Best Party of Your Entire Life.
Since opening in 2016, Watermark Brewing Company has had a steady stream of requests for private party opportunities and they’re answering that clarion call by renovating an 11,000 square foot warehouse adjacent to the brewery and turning it into a private venue experience. They are already booking events for 2020 and plan to be officially open in the spring of 2020 at the “Watermark Solarium.”
The Solarium will be able to host up to 250 guests at a single event and house Watermark’s nano distilling operation. The venue will include a commissary kitchen to be used by food caterers, offer fully functional climate control capabilities, provide transportation for guests and serve Watermark’s wide variety of adult beverage options including cocktails. The vibe of the Solarium will have an array of live plants, natural light, along with an array of wooden barrels aging both spirits and beer.
Watermark has hired on Nicole Crawford who has a ton of experience curating stunning looking events during her time as an independent photographer. Nicole’s role is to help facilitate the planning and details leading up to the day of a client’s event as Event Coordinator. Ali Brodhacker has been promoted internally at Watermark as the Beverage Coordinator aka “The Queen of Quench,” to help clients choose the libations that will best suit their event at the Solarium. Ali will help clients select what beer, wine, cider and cocktails they would like to enjoy at their event.
Watermark Co-Founder Chris Mason says, “Since we opened in 2016 we have constantly been approached by a number of patrons to close down on a Saturday so that someone could have a wedding reception or charity event in our taproom, so that is why we have decided to expand our operation with the addition of the Solarium.”
What was formerly a beer distribution warehouse will now house Watermark’s nano distilling operation and barrel aging program. In addition to facilitating weddings, the venue will offer space for large scale charity events, corporate events, private mug club parties and unique food pairing dinners.
Mason tells us, “We have assembled a solid team and concept to help facilitate the best possible party of client’s entire life, as we are beyond excited to offer such a unique venue unlike anything else in the region.” He adds, “Southwest Michigan has become a destination for wedding venues and breweries, so we had the idea to crossover the two. We have positioned the Solarium as a venue that includes all of the amenities that you may not necessarily think about prior to hosting an event or wedding. We identified that some of the outdoor venues or barns lack climate control, standard bathroom accommodations and are located relatively far away from lodging. When we designed the Solarium we made sure to create a space where all guests will feel as comfortable as possible and take all the stress off the event hosts.” You can see the floorplan by clicking this link:
Co-Founder of Watermark Justin Schaul has done an incredible job adapting to his role as the General Contractor on the project and building out the entire space with a small team on a very limited budget. Co-Founder David Cockell will continue to oversee all brewing operations along with developing the distilling program, Co-Founder Chris Mason will continue to handle all business operations and Justin Koehneke will remain taproom manager of the brewery’s taproom.
Mason says, “We would not be able to pursue this project without the constant dependability of our current employees who have been with us since we opened, along with the addition of Nicole and Ali joining us to help manage the Solarium. We would also like to thank Honor Credit Union for financing our expansion project, Cornerstone Alliance for helping us secure a property tax abatement and the Village of Stevensville for being so supportive of all the small business developments in our community.”
Watermark Solarium anticipates becoming fully operational this upcoming spring and is already booking events for as early as May of 2020.
To book your event and find more details click this link: http://watermarksolarium.com
