From Lisa at the Event Center Downtown, this note:
Restoring the old Coca Cola Bottling Buildings has been like an archeological dig. Built in 1938, the buildings had many hidden gems we were thrilled to find. We uncovered antique brick, beautiful wood, beams, and the best yet, a room size sheet of copper on the floor of a room in our second story. Research answered the mystery of the beautiful metal floor, we were standing in the syrup room and the copper was to prevent the sweet secret ingredient from dripping through to the first floor.
The hardwood floors in the lounge area are the original floors and the brick has been uncovered from the original interior. Also being reused in the Upstairs Lounge are the light fixtures original from the bottling and production areas which we cleaned up and painted fitting perfect for the scheme of the building’s original charm.
What once was the “syrup room” now is our Upstairs Lounge serving a different kind of “syrup”. Our concept is to provide a relaxing, de-stressing atmosphere where people can come in the late afternoon, have a cocktail or coca-cola and perhaps decide on a business deal or unwind from a day’s work.
The Upstairs Lounge is open Monday thru Friday from 4:00PM – 7:00PM. Each day a snack will be available free whether it be popcorn, chips and salsa, or perhaps a small taco bar. If you are hungry for a full meal you can walk a block up the street to many wonderful downtown restaurants like Mafia’s, Jimmy’s, Sid’s, Las Margaritas, Jefferson’s, Café 123, Breezeway or the Irish Bred Pub.
As always, handicap accessibility continues to be very important to us. What was once the freight elevator now occupies an elevator in the original shaft.
The final phase of renovations will be the basement which served as the boiler room and fallout shelter. Eventually it will be a wine cellar. Since the wine cellar renovation is a future project, we did design and install the wine cellar gate.
We are pleased to announce that our facility pricing has been revised to include a non-profit rate for need-based community service agencies, schools and churches to further serve our great community. Serving and helping others is what we do. Thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing you soon.
