Sizing Up Party Centers in Geauga

June 20, 2013

By Ann Wishart
When it comes to hosting your significant events, size matters.
Booking a banquet room for an intimate gathering can leave participants wandering aim-lessly around like marbles in a wine keg.
Just as undesirable, and unsafe, is a venue too small for the number of people you want to feed and entertain.
Fortunately, there are plenty of party centers, banquet rooms and wineries in Geauga County to meet nearly any space requi-rements with individual attrac-tions and sufficient amenities.
Some include outdoor patios or arbors that increase the capacity in Mother Nature’s unpredictable environment.
Waterfall Attraction
Capacious Federated Church Family Life Center’s great hall with rustic architecture holds up to 450 with a seating capacity of 320, said Marketing Director Wendy Pierce.
The facility also has smaller meeting rooms and an outdoor labyrinth garden that seats 110.
Located on 40 acres in Bainbridge Township, the center has a waterfall, playground for the younger set and a sound system if needed, Pierce said.
Company picnics and family reunions outdoors are common events in the summer months.
St. Denis Golf Club and Party Center can accommodate up to 200 diners, with a buffet set-up or “plated and served” meals, said Carrie-an Varga, party center manager.
The patio, with a view of the golf course, is an attraction spring through fall as is the arbor with a pergola designed for outdoor weddings.
The large room can be divided into two smaller areas and Varga said there are plans to design a more modern look for the dining area including a new LED lighting system to alter the ambiance.
Veterans Welcome Partiers
VFW Post #6519 at 752 Water Street in Chardon is convenient and easy to use.
There is a six-burner stove, a large griddle, a refrigerator, a small freezer, three table-top food warmers and an abundance of cooking utensils.
The hall also has a wireless micro-phone, good acoustics and industrial-strength carpeting.
Gene Chapman has been hall manager for two years. The post built the hall about seven years ago.
It has a capacity of 120 diners or 100 if a band and dance floor are included in the plan. There is a covered patio with picnic benches for outside events or smokers and horse shoe pits. The landscaped patio area is fenced in for safety.
The separated canteen includes a full-service bar and rental of that facility includes a bartender from the post. The canteen includes seating at tables and the bar as well as a pool table.
The VFW has a state liquor license, so the state doesn’t allow groups to bring alcoholic beverages into the building.
They also serve wine and hard liquor. Currently, the bar is closed on Sundays, but the members are working on getting a Sunday liquor license.
The majority of events are catered. Monday through Thursday evenings, the post uses the facility to serve dinners open to the public, including kielbasi, wings and hamburgers for $4 to $6 per plate.
The post ladies’ auxiliary handles memorial lunches for a contribution.
Seminars and commercial events are held at the hall as well as Boy Scout meetings, birthdays, reunions, Zumba classes, etc.
“The majority of them are catered events,” Chapman said.
There is a post list of five or six caterers, but they don’t restrict caterer choice or event type. VFW members get a price break.
Summer is the busiest season. Already there are events booked clear to October.
Members will volunteer if needed to help with the set up. Parking expands to Sage’s parking lot across the road.
Family Project
The history of St. Denis gives the family-owned-and-operated facility a generational aspect.
Scotty and Mary Ann Foecking bought the undeveloped acreage in Chardon Township in 1965. They were driving home from visiting the grave of their son, Denis, when they saw the for sale sign, according to the St. Denis website.
The couple, working with H.S. Burkhardt, designed St. Denis Golf Course and started construction of the first nine holes in 1966 with help from their 10 children and Mary Ann’s parents, Leo and Esther Clark.
Eleven family members are still involved in the operation of the facility with Brendan Griesmer serving as president of the company.
A large, less formal room in the basement of the party center has been converted into a picnic-type setting available for large golf outings. It seats up to 120.
The party center’s executive chef is Tom Micco.
Geauga’s Historic Centers
Grandview Golf Club, with an indoor seating capacity of 150, is located at 13404 Old State Road in Middlefield.
The staff will accommodate smaller groups as well, said manager Jerry Wayman.
Surrounded by an 18-hole golf course, the party center is open all year around.
In the warm and sunny season, there is room in the yard near the clubhouse for a large tent. Inside, the center includes a dance floor and a bar with large tables and meals for large groups can be served or a buffet line can be set up.
Grandview will also cater events in other locations, Wayman said.
History buffs will enjoy Bass Lake Taverne, which was built in Chardon 150 years ago.
With fireplaces upstairs and down-stairs, Bass Lake serves as a restaurant with two party rooms on the second floor. Each room can seat 60 and there are dividers available if a more intimate setting is desired.
A protected outdoor patio with umbrella-covered tables is a popular party site when the weather permits.
For partiers who want to retire within walking distance after an evening of celebrating, the adjoining inn has 12 guestrooms with fireplaces, jet tubs and mini-kitchens.
The room prices start at $115 per night and include an in-room continental breakfast.
Special packages are available, including golf at the next-door Chardon Lakes Golf Course and dinner. A public biking trail is conveniently located as well.
Vineyard Picnics
Laleure Vineyards, located at 17335 Nash Road (also state Route 88) in Parkman, Ohio 44080, is a newer venue in Geauga County.
Rich and Betsy Hill bought the old Stoll Farm in 1997 and started to learn how to grow grapes and make wine with a lot of help from the Ohio’s Wine Grower’s Association and Ohio State University.
Rich’s grandmother, Jeanne Marie Laleure Hill, was a native of Jouet les Tours in France’s Loire Valley, which is famous for its great Burgundy wines.
She taught Rich and Betsy to drink wine with dinner and the habit led them to the vineyard.
Their first official vintage was in 2002 and they have been expanding ever since, setting up a tasting room in the original milking parlor of the old barn.
The Hills have 3 acres of grapes on their 30-acre farm and all the wine produced at Laleure comes from the grapes they harvest from their vineyards, Rich said.
One of the wines is called “Three Dog Red” because they had three dog “greeters” when they named it.
The two remaining dogs meet all visitors and escort them to the tasting room where visitors may taste and purchase bottles of chardonnay, vignoles, pinot noir, Bianca, Riesling and Seyval, Rich said.
For several years, the Hills have been working to renovate the barn and now have a 40-foot-by-60-foot room with chairs, tables and counters.
Rich said they do not sell or serve food.
“We encourage people to picnic,” he said, adding they provide the wine.
When the room is open on weekends, it is not uncommon for visitors to bring a basket of edibles and set them out in a community-type, pot-luck meal.
“Everyone shares in a nice family atmosphere,” Rich said, adding on Friday evenings, there is usually entertainment as well.
A 1,800-square-foot deck on the east side of the barn/picnic room allows outdoor dining and sipping with the benefit of a vista.
“From the deck you can see all the way to Pennsylvania on a nice day,” Rich said. “It’s a beautiful spot.”
The space is right for showers or parties, seating no more than 60, but since he has a day job, Rich said he isn’t planning on weddings or more formal events now.
The website is www.laleure.com and enquiries can be made by calling 440-548-5120.
Lakeside Venues
One-hundred-acre Pine View Lakes in Munson Township celebrates the great outdoors with a covered pavilion, a gazebo overlooking the lake and two patios attached to the indoor party center that can seat up to 100, said owner Bob Yui.
The lakeside is a great venue for weddings and parties with a beach, a dock/platform and paddleboats. Other attractions include a sand volleyball court, a softball diamond, basketball hoop and playground for younger children.
The indoor party center consists of two adjoined rooms with a fireplace at one end.
If someone is planning a good-weather event for more than 1,000 people, Wiegand’s Lake Park may fit the bill.
The beautifully landscaped 35-acre private park in Russell Township includes a pavilion, large lake-side patio, a gazebo with a panoramic view of the lake and a dance hall that can accom-modate 220.
A 5K running trail, ball field, paddle-boats and corn hole equipment provide entertainment for visitors.
One of the Wiegand family members who owns the park and lives on the grounds can transport individuals with disabilities by golf cart.
“The country theme is what’s popular now,” said manager Wendy Wiegand. “It’s rustic, but pretty. We’re right there with what people are looking for.”
Bigger Than it Looks
Tucked back in the corner of an L-shaped plaza, Danny Boy’s Pizza appears to be a small operation.
But, once inside, the restaurant at 8389 Mayfield Road in Chester Township spreads out to include a main dining room that will hold 100 diners, a game room and an indoor patio that will each seat another 50.
Smaller areas, such as the outdoor patio and the tap room with a long bar, provide seating for a few dozen more, all surrounded by Sinatra-era dcor.
The unit covers 6,500 square feet and general manager Jeff Wiseman said he can accommodate a party on very short notice, especially on weekdays.
The menu is far more extensive than pizza, he said, adding the kitchen can cater packages for other venues, delivery only.
Convenient and Restful
Businesses and organizations find the Red Maple Inn Bed and Breakfast in Burton Village conveniently located for early morning meetings with a breakfast buffet visitors find very attractive.
The inn’s Burton Room has a seating capacity of 66 but, if the tables are removed, 100 chairs can line up for seminars.
Manager Gina Holk said the patio off the Burton Room provides a little more space and a full bar can be set up outside in good weather.
The patio has a long-distance view of Burton’s famous maple tree woods.
Visitors looking for a place to stay the night can rent one of the inn’s 18 rooms and enjoy breakfast in the regular dining room.
DTJ Taborville hall manager Bruce Marek said his main room seats 200 and an additional room another 100.
Picnics can be accommodated in the pavilion and there is a playground and ball field, but the facility at 9850 North Blvd. in Auburn Township is not handi-capped accessible, he said.
If a more rustic venue is sought, the Geauga Park District has lodges and shelters all over Geauga County and the price is right.
Most can be reserved from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. at least seven days in advance.
The shelters can accommodate between 75 and 150 individuals except for smaller Orchard Hills Park Lodge and Sunnybrook Lodge, each of which has space for 48.
A $30 non-refundable fee is charged to non-residents for reserving lodges. While most facilities have electricity, picnickers must provide their own water. All food must be brought in and all trash hauled out.
Adam Hall on East Washington Street is owned by Auburn Township and was renovated in 2005. It has seating for 200, air conditioning and heating and the hall is 75-feet-by-50-feet with 9-foot ceilings.
The kitchen has 60 feet of counter top, two pass-through windows into the banquet hall, plenty of electrical outlets, a microwave, refrigerator and 50-cup coffee maker.
Outside the attractively landscaped property is a lighted asphalt parking lot and sidewalks that are handicapped accessible.
Chef’s Special Treatment
More amenities are available at St. Mary’s Catholic Church Banquet Room in Chardon, including the services of The Reserve House executive chef, Chris Sotkovsky.
The facility was opened eight years ago as a way to improve the church’s revenue stream, but it also serves well for church functions, said facilities manager Mike Boehnlein.
If the church has flowers or elect-ronics, the party may be able to use them at no additional charge.
There are a number of rooms avail-able for different party sizes.
The banquet room can seat 225. The adjacent cafeteria has room for 200 and a small party room is good for crowds of 60 or fewer, Sotkovsky said.
The wall between the banquet room and cafeteria may be eliminated some day, giving the resulting room a seating capacity of 350 with a buffet table and dance floor, he said
The facility has two full kitchens, so the on-call staff of up to 10 members has handled up to three events per day.
The wide variety of venues and amentities available in the community make it easy and fun to party in Geauga.
(This is the third article in the Party in Geauga series. Contact information on many party venues in Geauga County is available on the Geauga Maple Leaf website.)