Antwerp Chamber of Commerce presents the 2025 Gem of the Year: Todd & Jeff Cook
Jeff and Todd Cook were overwhelmingly nominated for the Antwerp Chamber’s 2025 Gem of the Year Award. Nominators’ response was great this year, and the consensus went in the direction of the Cook brothers. They will join the ranks of past GEMs: Goldie Getrost, Stan Jordan, Max and Hope Smith, Louise Miller, Dick Dunderman, Jan Hahn, George Rhonehouse, Jeanne Schmunk, Karen Sanders, Bill Bricker, Doug Bragg, Fred Kammeyer, Bill Fish, Bob Johnson, Tim and Brenda Copsey, Pudge Kennedy, Ray Friend, George and Victoria Clemens, Laurel Hopkins, Barry DeLong, Denise Coleman, and Lofton Brown – all of which are shining examples of Antwerp, Ohio.
Jeff and Todd Cook were born in Hicksville and when Jeff was in junior high and Todd was in high school, the family moved to the Antwerp area where they both graduated from Antwerp High School. The Cook brothers were very active when at Antwerp HS being involved in Quiz Bowl, Golf and Cross Country.
Sibling rivalry aside, Jeff and Todd are so thrilled to share such a humbling award bestowed upon them by their fellow neighbors and friends.
Todd and his wife, Rebecca, own the H2O Water Store – in Hicksville and in Antwerp. Todd started the Hicksville store in 1997, and then after he and Rebecca married in 1999, they opened the location in Antwerp.
At H2O they do all varieties of water treatment — from pond water systems to sulfur treatment, to water softeners, to commercial industrial water treatment for business applications; not to mention swimming pools and spas, testing and chemicals needed to maintain those levels.
Jeff Cook is technically retired. He owned CR Carpet, but sold that and now does general contracting. He along with his wife, Lori, were the architects and contractors for the renovation of the of old Haver Furniture building at the corner of Stone St. and South Main Street in downtown Antwerp. Jeff likes to stay active with running and working out, but a recent back surgery has forced him to slow down … sometimes. Jeff just likes to keep going and doing. He is keeping himself busy now with renovating the railroad building next to the VFW.
Their latest venture together is the birthing of a new business in Antwerp, the Antwerp Distillery. It will be just behind the Water Store building at 107 Bourbon Street (formerly Stone St.). Todd stated that they have some paperwork and commissioning of the stills as well as some cosmetic changes to the outside of the building, but are hoping & estimating a soft opening as early as Autumn 2025. They are planning to focus spirits that will be unique to the NE Indiana and NW Ohio area using local grains, fruits, herbs, etc from the local farmers in their bourbon, whiskey, vodka, gin, brandy and rum that they plan to produce and sell. They will be looking to showcase the uniqueness of the region. For example, there may be a Paulding County sugar beet vodka or a Blackberry … or even a Milkweed Old-Fashioned. There are so much in this regional area to emphasize, the Cook brothers are excited to experiment and find out what the people are interested in purchasing. That is the advantage of a micro-distillery; the small batch model allows for a more liberal creativity for a variety of products.
The Cooks are utilizing the shift in the zones of climate that this northern section is now, according to a lot of the people that are distilling. It’s becoming more what used to be the Kentucky climate 20 years ago where the good whiskey usually comes from Therefore, because of cold and warm change that this region gets, its good for the barrels swelling and contracting; it brings more flavor into the bourbon and the whiskeys.
When asked what is their drive for investing in this little section of Paulding County with their time, money and energy, they both agreed: “We want the community to thrive. We don’t want it to die. We want it to be, you know, something that people can enjoy the way we did and do, enjoy it now.”
“It’s interesting,” Todd continues, “When you’re growing up, you probably don’t appreciate 100% what you have around you. You’re getting ready to graduate from school and you’re like, ‘man, I can’t wait to get out of here.’ But then you realize as you go to other areas how protected and how amazing some of these small communities are. You start realizing maybe what a GEM you had here in this small community and how blessed we are compared to what other people experience. It’s kind of nice to preserve that…”
Jeff concluded with his gratitude for this nomination, “We just appreciate that people thought of us that way. It really was kind of unexpected. It was out of the blue.”
Well folks, that is just a sampling of this year’s Gems of the Year. Local boys who have grown and decided to make Paulding County their home, to invest in their community and surrounding area. Their acts of kindness, philanthropy, and enterprise is a prime example of why they were named Antwerp Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 GEM of the Year. Look for them at the parade on Saturday, August 9th kicking off the Rotary’s Day in the Park. Parade will go through downtown Antwerp beginning at the school and convene at Riverside Veterans Memorial Park for a day of entertainment, fellowship, food and fun. The Cook brothers will be presented with their Gem of the Year award at the Opening Ceremony following the parade.
