Stumpy’s

A major grant awarded to Stumpy’s Spirits Distillery will provide assistance to help their biggest expansion since being first established. The grant comes from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, which recently announced that $22.5 million in grant funding would be going to 89 projects throughout the state, with $17.5 million reserved for tourism-related projects and the remaining $5 million meant for festivals. Locally, Columbia distillery Stumpy’s – maker of whiskey, bourbon, vodka and gin – was awarded $500,000, which owner Adam Stumpf said will be going toward a “visitor experience center” along Route 3 near Hanover Road between Columbia and Waterloo. The biggest aspect of the Stumpy’s expansion is a roughly 27,000-square-foot multi-purpose venue.