Cocktail bar, The Lounge, opens in Smulekoff’s building

Adam Covington loves seeing people on their wedding days.

'Weddings are one of the happiest days in most people's lives. Everyone is in such a good mood,” he said.

He sees plenty of those happy days as owner of Eastbank, a wedding and events venue in the old Smulekoff's building. On July 11, he expanded from hosting events to hosting happy hours by opening The Lounge at Eastbank, a cocktail bar inside the events venue open to the public.

Movable partitions separate the bar from the venue seating area when the venue isn't in use. The Lounge isn't open to the public on Saturdays because of weddings, and Covington said it will likely also close for the winter holiday party season, when he anticipates being fully booked.

Eastbank opened about a year ago, and Covington said he took the intervening time to get the business on its feet with the wedding business before adding in the bar.

Both businesses are a new hat for Covington, though he has plenty of experience in other parts of the wedding industry. His company Covington & Company does floral and event design, usually for weddings.

That work inspired him to open Eastbank - he saw a market for a wedding venue that wasn't a hotel or a barn-type building.

'I worked with a lot of clients looking for a different kind of venue,” he said. 'I like more modern or contemporary things. I wanted something a bit more cosmopolitan, a little bit more clean and upbeat.”

In The Lounge, cool light casts a bluish tint over the room - the tinted lights can be rotated between colors based on a client's wishes. Black, silver and chrome highlights are everywhere, and curtains of beads cascading around rectangular chandeliers hang from the ceiling. Outside, the bar offers patio seating overlooking the Cedar River.

Running a bar is different from designing floral arrangements, but Covington said he's enjoyed the learning process. He credits bar manager Jayme Tegeler with creating the drinks menu. The bar serves a slate of classic and signature cocktails, along with beer. Staff make all the simple syrups, sours and fruit juices for drinks, and also offer a small menu of shareable plates, including charcuterie boards, dips, flatbread and homemade ice cream.

'I have fantastic staff. I literally knew nothing about owning a bar or operating a bar or even about alcohol,” he said. 'There's a lot of art to it. There's a lot more to bartending than people really think.”