A labor of love: Cooper’s Hall opens in Bolivar honoring family legacy

To say opening Cooper’s Hall was a labor of love would be a huge understatement. On Oct. 16 owner’s Justin and Alyssa (Lyss) Wallace welcomed guests to the new event center in a four-hour open house that could very well have been an open love letter to Lyss Wallace’s grandfather, after whom the hall is named.

Lyss Wallace, an interior designer, said she chose the name Cooper’s Hall as a tribute to her grandfather Paul Cooper, whom she described as a visionary who built high-rises from L.A. to San Francisco and who inspired her to always strive for perfection.

That aspiration is visible inside, where she has created an atmosphere that is spacious, breezy and minimalist, yet somehow manages to be lush.

“This is all for him and for my grandmother Dee who was the love of his life,” said Lyss Wallace.

The stars seem to have aligned

An intricate pattern of connections had to take place for Cooper’s Hall to come into being. First, Zach Salapack, whose restaurant Sublime Smoke used to occupy the first floor of the building, closed the business and moved a few doors down to open El Albatross.

Salapack then sold the building to Lockport Brewery last year. About a month later, the owners of Lockport found a property they thought would work better for them and bought the Pilot Brewing Company in New Philadelphia, so now they had a building to unload.

The owners of Lockport just happened to know Justin Wallace was looking to relocate his office that was in the building next door.

“They said, ‘hey, do you guys want to buy this building so we can buy that building?’” said Justin Wallace. “Well, this is way too big of a building for just an insurance office, and Lyss and I had talked about opening an event space, and we thought it would be great to put a coffee house in it, too.”

So, they invited Audrey Ersnt, owner of Vagabond Coffee in Canton and someone Justin Wallace just happened to know and admire from a number of interactions.

“I think I even judged her first speech on the Tusky Valley speech team,” said Justin Wallace.

All hands on deck

There was plenty of work to go around getting Cooper’s Hall ready to open and the Wallaces, who are working and raising two daughters under age of 4, thanked their many friends and family members who helped.

“My dad and I sanded the floor and Lyss finished it,” he said. “My dad’s been involved in everything and my mother has helped tremendously. There’s a whole lot of people we have to thank...Rich Bertka, Mike Penso, Rick Niblick, Josh Wallace and Dan Gurski ...the list goes on.”

Salapack clued in the Wallaces to the nuances of the old building, while Jeramy Taylor of Taylor Exteriors David Koch of Rock Ridge Renovations provided additional interior and exterior craftsmanship.

About that coffee shop

Ernst closed her shop in Canton to bring Vagabond Coffee and Catering to Bolivar and be able to work with Cooper’s Hall for events that want to add a coffee or bar service, or for showers and events where people want a light lunch or snacks.

“If people want some sort of appetizer or cocktail hour, I can offer that, and they can still bring in their full service catering,” said Ernst.

A word from a former owner

Salapack, who was there to serve food and beer at the open house. “My family poured a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this building, and I know they have, too,” he said. “We’re still invested in this neighborhood, so we were thrilled to see this place go to a young family. Now someone else gets to have their vision and their dream. I couldn’t be happier for them.

Cooper’s Hall is located at 110 Water St., Bolivar. Reservations can be made by calling 330-880-3882.