They hosted yearly parties for their landscaping employees out of that warehouse. A friend that attended one of the parties and is affiliated with the National Association for Downs Syndrome approached Chuck and Dean asking if they would host a fundraiser for the organization. Always willing to help out a good cause, they agreed and the annual fundraiser has been held on the grounds for 13 years,
with the attendance swelling from 250 to 1,200. The annual benefit became so popular that more and more people began approaching Chuck and Dean to ask if they could host parties there too. The two friends then realized they had another potentially successful business on their hands.
Today, CD & ME has grown since its conception! The original building, The Loft now has an adjacent facility called The Mica. Both facilities have their own unique characteristics ~ whether you are looking to host your event in a rustic yet elegant location or a grand cathedral tent; CD & ME has what you are looking for! Both facilities have unsparing landscaped areas with water and fire features to call its own. Chuck’s Wedding reception was the first one held at CD & ME.
Recently, they have partnered up with some good friends to start Frankfort Spirits and added a Distillery to the Loft. This is where specially crafted Vodka, Bourbon and Whiskeys are produced. With the facility evolving over the years, and more amenities constantly being added on, CD & ME now hosts events from weddings, fundraisers, birthday and anniversary parties to corporate events. The summer concert series“ Dance the Night Away” is held on the grounds from May through September and during the winter months they host their Comedy shows from January through April. Longtime friends Chuck JaBaay and Dean Vaundry have come a long way since they were living out of their warehouse making a go at owning their landscaping business. Both are now married, Chuck and Eva have two daughters, while Dean and Marni have three sons. Their wives are also a part of CD & ME, as the company is partially named after them...Chuck Dean & Marni Eva.
Two longtime friends and Frankfort residents are the owners/operators of CD & ME, home to many of the area’s special events and banquets. Chuck JaBaay and Dean Vaundry began their landscaping business, JaBaay's Outdoor Creations, about 25 years ago after leaving their successful careers; Chuck, as an engineer for People’s Gas, and Dean, as an art director at D.D.B. Needham in downtown Chicago.
The two friends were landscaping and building decks together as side jobs around their careers. They were becoming so successful at it that they decided to take a chance, and bought a piece of land where JaBaay's Outdoor Creations and CD & ME now stands. Chuck and Dean ran their landscaping business while living and working out of their landscaping warehouse, which would later become CD &ME.