After 15 years hosting weddings, The Springdale House & Gardens is being reimagined into a beer garden. 

The Dales Biergarten and Bottle Shoppe is taking over the classic home at 3150 Platt Springs Rd., where many couples said, “I do,” opening up as a social spot for families and pets.

Chris Faircloth and Chad Ownes are leasing the building from former owners Kevin and Jennifer Reeley and will have their grand opening May 20 with the band Prettier Than Matt playing and The Saucy Vet food truck helping soak up the libations. The beer garden is already open to the public.

“We both lived here about a mile away and we got tired of driving to have a beer or wine,” said Faircloth. “We’d end up leaving Springdale to go to Columbia or West Columbia. We thought we could make it work in Springdale.”

The name is derived from the numerous streets behind the building with “Dale” as part of their name, he said, adding it’s a take on the Avenues epithet for a neighborhood in nearby Cayce.

It’s also common in Germany for biergartens to be named after a town, Faircloth added, explaining it’s another reason for the name of the business.

“Our vision is for someone to stop by and have a couple of beers responsibly and for it to be a social spot to hang out. We’ll have games and custom picnic tables,” he said. “It’s kid-friendly, pet-friendly and family-friendly.”

Beer is the emphasis, with 16 taps, with domestic beer to compliment the variety of craft options. Not everybody likes craft beer, Faircloth explained.

Food trucks will rotate so people can purchase food, and for the kids, there will be soda available for purchase.

Getting ready to open took about a year, Faircloth said.

“We reached out to Mr. Reeley because we heard he was going to sell. We convinced him to lease to us,” the new co-owner recounted.

The Reeleys are headed into retirement after many years in the wedding industry.

“We moved the house [to its current location] in 2007 and opened up in March 2008. Our last wedding was this month,” Jennifer Reeley said. “We retired the business and are leasing to The Dales. It’ll be more of a gathering spot for all of the community opposed to just being for weddings. It’s a wonderful place for families, children and dogs. It’s a great opportunity for the area and surrounding areas. “

While the biergarten is primarily a social spot, Faircloth isn’t opposed to leasing it out for special events or dinners. 

“The house is too pretty not to rent,” he said. 

The biergarten will be open Monday-Friday from 4 to 10 p.m. and from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.