The owner of the Jones Creek subdivision’s former clubhouse is seeking to rezone it to run a catering venue.
On Dec. 15 of last year, Mark Herbert of MBH Holdings submitted an application to Columbia County Planning to rezone the some six-acre parcel at 777 Jones Creek in Evans from planned unit development to S-1 special.
A narrative document attached to the rezoning application explains the proposed uses of the property as an “event, hospitality and meeting space; restaurant space” and “catering space and kitchen.”
This business, which would be open to the public and also available for private and community rentals, would operate seven days a week, from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Katerwerks Grille has operated out of the Clubhouse at Jones Creek as a restaurant and catering service since 2019, the year that Herbert acquired the property from Jones Creek Investors.
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The narrative notes that the building, more than 11,000 square feet, would keep its seating capacity of 295, and that “at this time, there are no plans for any new additions or structures on the property.”
While Herbert owns the clubhouse property, it along with the surrounding areas, including the defunct golf course, are all zoned planned unit development. In 2018, the county approved a minor PUD revision to allow Katerworks to offer catering services on the property.
The clubhouse once served the Jones Creek Golf Course, which closed in 2018 amid maintenance complaints, silt buildup and the golf course’s owner, Julian Saul, losing a lawsuit against Columbia County.
In January of last year, crews drained Willow Lake at Jones Creek to examine the crumbling Willow Lake dam. The lake has since been filled and repairs on the dam completed.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
