We don’t do a lot of advertising but we bring thousands of people through our building who see our
landscaping, waterfall and brick pavers and realize it would look nice in their backyards.
they received the liquor license and decided to make special events and banquets a sec- ond business, CD & ME. “We built another metal building about 200 yards away from this one where we now store all of our land- scaping equipment,” Vaundry explains. “We started doing additional stuff inside the fi rst metal building to make it even nicer.” For example, the original doors were
removed and replaced with large glass doors that can be opened in nice weather or can provide great views of the property even when they’re closed. A stage for bands was installed and wooden balconies and stairs were added so weddings could be held in the loft overlooking the reception area below. Brick walls were built inside to warm up the color scheme. Air conditioning was installed as were men’s and women’s restrooms, and the building was made ADA- compliant. The partners are in the process
of installing a hardwood fl oor to match the wood on the balconies and stairs. CD & ME currently holds about 200
events per year—everything from chari- table and political fundraisers to birthday parties and weddings. The building annu- ally hosts a live broadcast by Roe and Ro- eper, Chicago-based talk-radio personalities, and even is staged four times per month for traffi c court. The success of the event venue has led
to more business for JaBaay’s Outdoor Cre- ations. “We don’t do a lot of advertising but we bring thousands of people through our building who see our landscaping, waterfall and brick pavers and realize it would look nice in their backyards. We have found a lot of uses for this building; it’s certainly not your typical banquet hall. My partner and I have always thought out of the box. That’s the best way of selling.”
Dean Vaundry and Chuck JaBaay transformed
a Varco Pruden metal building that housed their landscaping equipment into a successful event venue, which hosts about 200 events per year.