Deciding where to host your wedding party or business meeting can normally be an anxiety filled project. For Wooster area residents and businesses, though, there's no need to fuss and fret over your upcoming arrangements. David and Mary Ann Balas, owners of Memories Party and Conference Center, have developed a reputation for making local social and business functions proceed smoothly, gracefully, and without a hitch. We recently visited with David and listened as he taught us the recipe for effortless entertaining;
We've owned a meat and cheese deli in Applecreek since 1981. Our customers started asking for meat and cheese trays and vegetable trays which we could do with our present food service license. Before long, they began to ask for hot foods as well, but, we don't have a commercial kitchen at our deli, so, we rented a kitchen and got our catering license. After four or five years, we realized that a lot of business people were looking for a facility that could accommodate one to three hundred people because they didn't have accommodations for that large of a gathering. We found this building, previously a warehouse for a lumber company, and had it remodeled to hold two separate dining rooms with separate entrances and separate rest rooms. Renovation began in November 1997 and by April 1998, we were ready to open.
My wife Mary Ann is the mastermind behind our recipes. We do all the cooking ourselves with the help of our prep crew. We have set menus featuring approximately twenty-five entrees, but, when a customer has a specific request, we can do that, too. In fact, we just did a wedding where the mother of the bride had a chicken dish that she really liked. She got the recipe from a restaurant down south and brought us the recipe to test. The groom happened to be a member of the local Kiwanis who comes here every Tuesday for lunch so we tested the recipe for their Pecan Bourbon Chicken on the Kiwanis and they were really impressed. The bride and groom said it was right on the button and a beautiful presentation.
We serve strictly buffet style meals at Memories Party and Conference Center and the buffets are all self-serve. We can feed three hundred people in thirty to thirty-five minutes and the guests can pick and choose exactly what they want. When a customer is scheduling an event, they will come in and make their selections from our extensive lists of entrees, side dishes, salad bars, and homemade desserts, knowing that their guests will receive the hot, fresh delicious food of their choice in a highly efficient manner.
The majority of our functions are wedding parties. We guide our brides and grooms through the whole procedure. It's a very important and overwhelming day for the bride and her family and we take care of the details so they're able to relax and enjoy their special day. Our job is to help them through their dinner, cake cutting, and picture taking in a manner that progresses smoothly and keeps everyone involved. Once we've ushered them through these steps, it's time for the DJ to take over and the entertainment to begin.
We always happy to recommend local bakers, DJs, and photographers who are known for being dependable and doing good work. While we don't have a liquor license, families are welcome to bring their own liquor and we will supply the bartender, mixes, and setups.
Our dining rooms are fairly large and this is a complete nonsmoking facility. The minimum number of people for a lunch is thirty-five people and dinner is basically the same. On weekends, we like to have at least fifty people in the evening on a Friday and on a Saturday, there is a minimum of one hundred people. For a wedding, we can do a buffet for approximately three hundred fifty people and for a straight banquet, we can handle close to four hundred. If you have a full breakfast or full lunch, we don't require a room charge. The rooms can be rented for a half or a full day for meetings and seminars which can include everything from simple continental breakfasts with pastries, a fruit platter, coffee, and juice to full, hot breakfasts or lunches.
We still do off site catering, too. We can cater hot food for groups of twenty or more, and, for smaller gatherings, we have a variety of boxed lunches available. We cater mainly in the Wayne County area but we have gone as far as Canton, Strongsville, and Akron.
Basically, what separates us from other caterers in town is that we really pay attention to whatever the client wants, whether they're a new bride or a business. We know that this is a very important day for them and we make sure that everything is meticulously arranged in advance so that when they walk in the door, everything is ready to go.
For all of your party and conference center needs, Memories Party and Conference Center is the natural choice. Call David and Mary Ann today and don't forget to tell them that The Advocate sent you!
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