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ROCHESTER — It’s a tough time for local event spaces, which have enjoyed a boom in business as more people and organizations plan parties and gatherings after the pandemic subsides.
The number of spaces available for events is increasing, and that increase coincides with the trend for many employees to work remotely at least part of the time.
“It’s been a really, really good year,” said Joe Powers of Powers Ventures, which operates three event spaces in Rochester. “I think businesses are really understanding that there is synergy in bringing people together, especially when so many people are working from home. Whether it’s a project meeting, these are opportunities to bring people together.”
The boom in business events and parties led to two high-profile announcements in December to convert restaurant spaces into event venues.
Powers Ventures has decided to close its Well Dining restaurant at 255 First Ave. Southwest after 11 months of operation in order to transition to a space for special events. This expands Powers’ Rochester offerings to also include Mayowood Stone Barn, Rochester International Event Center and J. Powers at the Hilton.
Powers said many people asked to rent The Well for private events, but many requests conflicted with the restaurant’s business hours. This space was available for events on Sundays when the restaurant was closed.
As the Jan. 9 opening approaches, the Well space has transitioned from restaurant to event venue, and little has changed. The bar will remain, as will the dining area and kitchen.
Joe Ahlquist/Post Breaking News
Powers said the timing didn’t align with his original goal of opening a restaurant and adding vibrancy to downtown.
“We were betting that downtown would come back, and we think it will come back. Downtown always runs in cycles. There was a time, right before COVID, when downtown food was so good. There was. But after COVID-19, it still hasn’t recovered,” he said.
Shortly after The Well’s transition announcement, Rochester restaurateurs Natalie Victoria and Christine Stahl opened The Social at the Avalon, a 1920s-themed event venue in downtown Rochester in December. announced its own plans to develop.
The partners are building the 104-year-old Avalon Hotel building at 301 N. Broadway Avenue to transform the space vacated on the main floor by the closing of Chez Bodge Restaurant into an event hosting and catering venue. paid $1.8 million.
Victoria and Stahl own The Tap House and Tap House West restaurants in Rochester, and Victoria is also the owner of Victoria’s Ristorante & Wine Bar.
Victoria says local restaurants will see a surge in catering and event requests in 2023.
“It’s exploded,” she said. “Overall, catering has exploded 150% in the last year. It’s certainly a trend.”
These two new venues join other “boutique” event spaces in downtown Rochester, including Blue Duck Kitchen, Historic Chateau Theater, The Castle, Studio 324, and LC’s Venue, as well as Kahler Grand Hotel, Hilton; It will also be added to a larger space. Mayo Civic Center.
Joe Ahlquist/Post Breaking News
As many companies and individuals spend less time in group offices and workplaces and seek more ways for people to connect face-to-face, events held in smaller venues are popping up across the United States. We are seeing an increasing trend in cities.
In the fall of 2022, Leah Driscoll, sister-in-law Kathy Feenstra, Ray Driscoll, and Branden Monson converted the former Top Shot/Fusion/R Bar space at 316 Broadway Avenue into an LC venue.
Driscoll said LC is very busy and is booked into 2024 and 2025. She believes the moves by Powers Ventures and The Social at the Avalon validate her business plan.
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“I’m so humbled by the people who came up with the idea for the event venue. When I see other players trying to bring in additional players to the game, I’m like, ‘You must have come up with a great idea,'” Driscoll said. he said. “I think it’s the best time ever thought of to be in the events industry. We’ve gotten to a really good place. It just happened. People want sociability. Pandemic After everything has been shut down for so long and people are so far away from each other, they just want to have a good time. I think we’re still feeling the aftermath of that.”
LC’s Venue started attracting customers even before the space was ready, with people knocking on the door and requesting wedding dates during construction. Driscoll said LC has found a successful niche, with Aventi Entertainment organizing dance events with DJs and LC being named the “after-party” spot for the downtown street fair event held every Thursday. .
“Our nightlife has really exploded,” Driscoll said. “When we were given the title of the official afterparty spot, I was very hesitant about it. I said, “I’m here.”
“Oh my gosh. …That first Thursday we were severely understaffed because we had no idea how great the turnout would be. As a real late night hot spot we… “It put us on the map,” she said. Initially, the intention was to become a bar or have some kind of reputation, but identifying a need and capitalizing on that is what really helped us stay on the map. ”
LC has a liquor license. Clients can use any catering service to provide meals, but LC has a recommended list of food vendors.
Photo of breaking news file
One block south of LC, the Fagan family manages another venue called Studio 324, located on the first floor of the Fagan Studio Building at 324 S. Broadway Ave. This venue opened in his 2007 year. Although it is also a boutique space in a historic building, Studio 324 offers a different approach to its clients.
“We’re doing a little DIY. We’re a space. We provide tables and chairs. Other than that, we don’t have to use a specific caterer. Grandma’s ham and cheese sandwich If you want to make a , I say swoon,” co-owner Sean Fagan said. “In the early days, we did a lot of corporate camps. That’s what propelled us forward.”
Studio 324 currently hosts wedding events, groom dinners, and holiday parties for many Mayo Clinic departments. Fagan said there is growing interest in smaller, more flexible spaces like Studio 324.
“We have a lot of birthday parties. It’s seen a lot more than it used to be. I’ve never studied it, but my guess is that after the pandemic, the community will have more people.” “It seems like they want to collect ,” he said.
More and more players are entering Rochester’s venue space market, but how will that impact local businesses?
Driscoll, who considers Powers, Victoria and Fagan to be helpful role models, isn’t worried about additional venues opening.
“I’m going to root for each of them. We’re all going to adjust to different crowds. I think it’s something that will settle in naturally,” she said. “Honestly, at the end of the day, I think there’s enough business to be done.”
Maya Guillon / Post Breaking News
Maya Guillon / Post Breaking News
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