COLUMBUS, Ohio — With exactly one year until their wedding, a soon-to-be married couple awoke to a devastating email that jeopardized plans for their big day.
Dock 580 and its rooftop lounge Juniper near downtown Columbus announced it would be closing due to the financial impact of COVID-19, which has drained many parts of the economy.
Mark Kellar and Joshua Stephens said they signed a contract and made a down payment in March 2020 to get married there on June 12, 2021. On June 12, 2020, they received an email that the venue would be closing. Adding insult to injury, the couple said they were told there would be no refunds.
"This was the reception, this was the wedding; I mean, it was all supposed to be included," Kellar said. "It's one of the reasons we had chose the space. Every aspect was included."
So the two went from having everything to nothing.
The couple had also signed a contract with a photographer, a DJ and blocked hotel rooms two days before the company announced its closure.
"We signed all these other contracts, which completely screws us over because we're still obligated to fulfill them," Stephens said. "So it's a mess. This completely wrecked our plans. If we don't get the deposit back, we don't know when we're going to be able to get married really."
We asked about the contract they signed.
"There was a clause in there saying that the deposit was 25 percent non-refundable, but that's obviously with the assumption that our service is going to be rendered," Stephens said.
They said there was no indication something like this was about to happen.
"We didn't have any communication with them as to whether they were having business concerns or anything," Stephens said.
The couple said they immediately took action, reaching out to lawyers and connecting with others on wedding forums. They spoke with their credit card company about disputing the charge.
"Obviously we can't know the ins and outs of the business, but this is not right," Kellar said. "We've talked with people who said just as recently as a week ago they were talking with them and they were saying, 'Yeah, everything's fine,' and they were still taking people's money."
10TV reached out to Dock 580 Saturday by phone and email. We did not hear back.
But the company did share this statement online: "It is with heavy hearts that we share that, after more than two decades orchestrating and catering successful events, Dock 580 and Juniper will permanently close our doors due to the economic fallout resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. We sincerely thank all those connected to us for your years of support and patronage."
The company has an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau website. It is not accredited.