New Wedding and Events Center Opening Soon Near Anamosa

A property in Jones County that I've driven by hundreds of times has a bright new future. What used to be a car lot and an RV dealer will soon become a new events venue in Eastern Iowa.

The property is located at the intersection of Highway 151 and Highway 1, about 5 miles West of Anamosa. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that the new events center that will sit there will be called The Avacentre in Anamosa. The venue will host weddings, parties, and various other gatherings.

Owner Matt Linn told the Gazette that he purchased the 2.7-acre sight in June of 2023. Work on the $2.5 million project started last October. Linn says that he anticipates the remodeled 10,500-square-foot venue will open in May and host an open house sometime in June.

Linn told the Gazette that the new Avacentre in Anamosa "is the culmination of many years of hard work," noting that he entered the event venue business 15 years ago. Linn owns two other Avacentre venues in Cedar Rapids and Solon, as well as Brosh Chapel funeral homes.

The Anamosa facility will feature larger events, smaller event spaces, a full-service beverage lounge, and a private outdoor patio equipped with a music bandshell and outdoor bar, according to the Gazette.

Linn told the Gazette that the new center will have two or three full-time employees to start, but said that number could grow to five or ten if business takes off. Linn envisions business coming from other small towns as well as from the Cedar Rapids and Marion area.