And in an effort to bolster the local arts community, Jared Loss and Mike Gaydos are working diligently to open a new music venue that is complemented by a creator space offering various skilled artisan work areas.

Loss told Patch the music venue, The Mill at Rockdale, is in the final phases of its construction and design. The Mill at Rockdale is located at 3100 Mount Road in Aston.

"We are hoping to get an occupancy permit by the end of the month or early June," he said.

Now, he and Gaydos are working with engineers getting fire safety apparatuses installed, setting up the stage, and putting finishing touches on the reception area, bar, a VIP seating area.

"We're into the fun stuff," Loss said.

Additionally, the team is building a microbrewery in the venue that will brew its beer for serving.

"I've done a few home brews, Mike has done more," Loss said. But the two recently got together with the Band of Media Brewers, a local group that focuses on the art of home brewing.

"Mike and I were going in thinking we'd join and learn more by being part of the community," Loss said. "While there, we said we should just have them do the brews, most of these guys are doing home brews, and they would love to do larger batches.

Some Band of Media Brewers have professional brewing experience, too, Loss said.

Loss and Gaydos acquired the space about four years ago and have been subletting it to a woodworker as they worked to bring the venue to life.

But the dream of opening a venue is much older than four years, Loss said.

"I worked World Cafe Live years ago, and it started my drive to open a venue." he said.

While studying at Temple University, one of Loss's assignments was to write a business plan. With his love of music and history working at a venue, his mock-up plan was for that of a music venue.

That was about 20 years ago.

Loss and Gaydos are longtime friends, the kind who have known each other for literally their whole lives.

Gaydos went to school for music but ended up in the marketing world in New York City.

Loss said Gaydos began to miss the music industry and told him if he ever followed through with the dream of opening a venue to let him know.

Now, they are getting ready to open The Mill at Rockdale imminently.

Loss operates Rockdale Music & Studios, a music school-studio where kids can learn about all things music and where artists can lay down tracks in the studio.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the school moved to its current location on Mount Road, and the space underwent renovation.

Loss said he then inquired about the space next door, and then pitched the venue idea to Gaydos.

"We had [Rockdale students] performing at venues all over," Loss said. "World Cafe Live, Ardmore Music Hall, The Note. We wanted them to have a home stage."

So while the Mill at Rockdale will be his students' stage, it will also serve as a platform for programming that isn't typical to Delaware County, Loss said.

He's looking to bring bands out from Philadelphia to hit their stage, as well as regional acts.

Loss said the venue is hosting a benefit show for the Delaware County Historical Society on June 21. The aim is to support the historical society while also getting younger people interested in the county's history.

And on June 28, the venue will participate in the Aston Pride event.

"It's all about having fun and being inclusive," Loss said.

And togetherness and inclusivity are a main focus of the Loss and Gaydos ventures.

Namely, the Mill Works Creator Space.

Located in the old church at 2460 Mount Road in Aston, the space features a wood shop, a metal shop, a ceramic studio, a sewing area, a photo and video studio, and equipment for graphic design, such as a large-format printer, laser cutter, and a vinyl plotter.

"We are trying to make it a place to come in and do creative work," Loss said. "All the tools are set up for you."

The space is owned by artist Jay Walker, but Loss and Gaydos are looking to purchase the church from him to make it all their own for artists to collaborate and work in.

"We can do more when we work together," he said.

And the physical space with hands-on artisan tools offers a much-needed break from the screen-laden lives many people live in 2025.

"For the maker space, it's getting back in touch with kind of your primitive self," Loss said. "You build stuff and make stuff. We weren't just made to look at screens all day."

The Mill Works space's manifesto is all about using your hands to create, like our ancestors did for thousands and thousands of years.

"That's what we’re built to do," Loss said.

And Loss hopes to instill that into others through the school, venue, and creator space.