JULESBURG, Colo. -- The Julesburg community gathered to celebrate a new business coming, a business based on travel and commerce. 

Cobblestone Hotels broke ground on a new location that will be in Julesburg near Interstate 76 and the state Welcome Center.

"I am so excited. Like I said; this is the stepping stone for us. We're envisioning more restaurants out here by the interstate. The next closest on I-76 is Fort Morgan. Sterling doesn't really have restaurants by the interstate, so we're hoping to get that here," said Rhonda Graham. 

Graham is the director of Community Economic Development of Sedgwick County.

Cobblestone coming to Julesburg is the result of community officials reaching out to the company; "relentlessly," some said with a smile.

"Julesburg picked up the phone and called," said Tim Shefchik, Vice President of Development for Cobblestone Hotels. 

Cobblestone Hotels announced in March the company planned construction of a 58-room three-story hotel located near Interstate 76 and the Julesburg Welcome Center. The goal is to have the hotel completed by August 2024.

Rhonda Graham, Community Economic Development of Sedgwick County director,  was commended throughout the groundbreaking event for her hard work in securing Cobblestone coming to Julesburg.

"I talked to Julesburg, about 10 years ago, for the very first time, and it was a community that had need at the time. And [the community's] needs only increased," Shefchik said. 

The company traces its history to 2007 when Brian Wogernese, President & CEO of Cobblestone Hotels, was driving from Sioux Falls, SD., to Oshkosh, Wisc. He went through many small towns and realized these small towns’ need for hotels were being overlooked. 

From there, a 31-unit Cobblestone Inn & Suites was designed that would ensure these small towns were given the quality and amenities that you would see in the bigger markets, according to the company's website.