BRYAN, TEXAS — Sometimes, the desire to bring something new to the area pushes the uncertainty to the backseat as a business owner.
Many are still planting business roots in their communities despite the unknown that may lie ahead.
The pandemic has forced the wedding industry to adapt to allow the show to carry on and there's a new venue in downtown Bryan ready for your special day.
Nestled on 8.5 acres of land sits Reserve at Cottonwood Creek, a brand new indoor and outdoor event space ready to host its first guests this spring.
"This idea started a couple of years ago, but we actually broke ground...the summer of 2020," Chris Arrendondo, general manager of the event space said.
Arrendondo says the new space is here to serve the community and they are proud to be part of the revitalization movement historic downtown Bryan is seeing.
"So the community really likes that they a place like this to go to. The owners are locals and they really give back a lot to the community and this is another way of them giving back and allowing people to host their dream wedding or corporate event, or birthday party or graduation party here, so it really is for the community and we are glad to be part of that downtown Bryan movement," Arrendondo added.
Hosting an open house over the weekend, local vendors were able to use the space to promote their services and to make sure the community knew they were still open for business.
"Even through pandemics and any type of crisis, people are still going to get married. Not only were the wedding business and venues hit harsh, the local businesses, the independently-operated businesses were hit really hard," Arrendondo added.
Buppy's Catering and Bartending has been around for 30 years in Bryan and the owner says the pandemic hit his hospitality industry especially hard.
"It's drastically affected our industry. We were probably the first ones to be affected and we will probably be the last ones to recover," Buppy Simank, owner of Buppy's Catering and Bartending said.
Using this time to showcase his business, Simank says a new event space is huge for the area and enhances the business community to better serve its residents.
"A lot of people in the wedding industry run in the same circle. We help each other. It's a partnership," Simank added
The new venue boasts an indoor and outdoor ceremony and reception option with a bridal suite and an open air chapel.
Management says they are about 70% complete with their construction right now, which is set to be complete within the next month or so. Their first wedding will take place in late May.