Garrettsville residents Larry and Laurie Hermann’s idea of retirement did not involve too much lazing around. The married couple along with their daughter, Wendy, announced their plans to build a new enterprise called Bella Dawn, an events business, at the 20th Century Club of Garrettsville’s Meeting on Oct. 19.
“We are very excited to get going,” Laurie told The Weekly Villager. “We are so excited to get going and start making our reservations, bookings and get going with it and hope we can serve the community. Whether it is an event, someone’s anniversary or someone’s wedding, we are just excited to offer that to the community and be business partners.”
The Hermanns’ new business will be located at the 13-acre Isaac Mills House, across the street from the Nelson Township Town Hall on Nelson Circle and will open its doors in the fall of 2024.
After Larry, longtime owner of Hermann’s Pickles Co., sold his business this summer, he said he and his wife were looking for a new opportunity. He added that after running a national business for so long, it was impossible for him and his wife to suddenly do nothing at all.
Laurie credited Wendy for coming up with the idea of an events business.
“She just kept saying ‘I would love to have a venue’ so we thought it might be a fun project to do when we saw the building and we liked it so we just sort of said this might be a fun project for us to do,” Laurie said.
The Hermann family purchased the Property and after getting it rezoned, retained an architect to contract with building engineers to renovate the 200-year-old building and ensure its structural integrity.
He noted that the plan is to build a parking lot outside the grounds, a patio for wedding venues, a full house for the bridal party to use, and a carriage house for the groomsmen to spend time in during weddings. There are also plans to upgrade the heating and air conditioning and prep spaces, making it a “one stop shop.”
Larry said that he and his wife emphasized making sure the house still maintains its rustic feel.
“That is the reason for doing it,” he said. “The building, back in 1992, was fixed up nicely. In 1992 a local person made it into a farmer’s market and after that he sold it. It was a bakery when we bought it and remodeled. All we are doing is keeping it like that and making it stronger because we are going to have a lot of people in there.”
The Hermanns acknowledged that the renovations have taken longer than expected but when everything is completed, Bella Dawn will be operational as fall rolls around next year.
In addition to hosting weddings, Bella Dawn hopes to field a variety of different events such as birthday parties, bridal showers, and anniversaries.
While this events business is not on the same scale as Hermann’s Pickle Co., Larry acknowledged it would be a nice change of pace to operate a smaller business.
“It is for the community and something to do and it won’t be as involved as our other business which at this stage of the game is what we want,” he said. “We want something that is a little less involved than having a national company.”
Although owning an events business is not the same track as owning a pickle business, Laurie said the nuts and bolts are very similar.
“Any business is that you sell a product, and it really is just one of those things that businesses go out and make someone happy with that product,” she added. “That has always been our attitude with whatever we do. I don’t want to say business is business but that is the way it is.”
According to Laurie, word has already spread through the community of the Hermann’s new business venture, and they have received inquiries from the community, making its first booking despite being 10 months away from officially opening.
“We plan on doing a lot of bookings and having a lot of affairs and after being to a lot of affairs we know how to operate this type of business so it should be nice and comfortable,” Larry said. “It is just from going to a lot of weddings and a lot of events and even having our own events. We are going to be advertising a lot on social media and going out there and drumming up business.”
