Four years after buying a former Xerox building on the southside of Stamford and transforming it into an event venue, Mimi Sternlicht is expanding on her concept and adding two new business elements.
Sternlicht, president of The Loading Dock, said Stamford-based On The Marc catering will join her business as its in-house caterer and Port Chester, N.Y.-based Carolyn Dempsey Design will occupy 1,000 square feet of space in an adjoining building that once housed a flower company.
“The company is going to be able to offer a much more inclusive mentality,” Sternlicht said.
The Loading Dock, which is located on Fairfield Avenue close to the new Harbor Point development project, has 17,000 square feet of space with the ability to seat 300 guests for dinner and over 400 for a buffet lounge. The space also features a 5,500-square-foot ballroom, a 2,500-square-foot sky-lit theater and a retro arcade for birthday parties. Sternlicht has recently added to its lease, 4,000 square feet of space. The space had housed Banchet Flowers which has since moved its Connecticut operation to Greenwich.
Carolyn Dempsey Design, which specializes in floral arrangements and event space design, will offer The Loading Dock additional expertise. It made the move to Stamford after having outgrown its Port Chester location.
The addition event space “will allow us to have some smaller parties for younger professionals,” said James Warke, general manager of The Loading Dock. “The idea is to have two spaces that we can scale to the parties.”
Warke said the space should also function well for parties for smaller corporate staffs.
“Before they might have said we”™d love to but it”™s out of the question because of size and budget,” Warke said. “It opens the same quality to a broader audience.”
Sternlicht said Saturday night menus are a third of the price at the new venue called Studio Space.
Sternlicht said the new dual space approach will enable the company to catch the smaller fish that would have in the past slipped through the net, as well as letting two separately sized events to be catered in one night.
Laure Aubuchon, director of economic development in Stamford, said businesses choices in where they throw events can be extremely malleable.
“Business people throwing events have to meet expectations and they will go to a place that suits their need,” Aubuchon said. “What that location has done with their space has essentially created a blank slate; a very coy move in this environment. You can have a completely different kind of space there each time and it really expands your options and is a very transformative space, you”™re able to make it a winter wonderland or a Hawaiian luau party, whatever you want. That”™s a great asset with the entire economy here in Stamford becoming increasingly diversified.”
The Loading Dock has also taken on On The Marc, an area catering company run by Marc Weber that The Loading Dock fostered in its infancy.
“Marc was very young, but his food was truly remarkable,” Sternlicht said. “It was creative, delicious and interesting. He was very anxious, eager and willing to earn his stripes.”
On The Marc has doubled its business every year for the last four and set up a full kitchen in Stamford.
“We are not saying you can”™t bring in your own caterer,” Sternlicht said. “We are saying he”™s our in-house guy, he”™s our preferred guy, and it costs less when you use him.”
She said having an in-house caterer is also advantageous for an event space because people don”™t like the idea of paying for space in addition to catering.
“Together it is a lot more palatable,” Sternlicht said.
Weber said having begun his business in 2006, his mentality for the past few years has been to undercharge and over deliver.
“People were definitely looking for value,” Weber said. “We were delivering at the quality of the really big New York caterers for a fraction of the price.”
Sternlicht said there was a notable downturn for hospitality in 2009. “That was definitely a hard year.”
Sternlicht said there has been a bit of return in corporate business, but leadership is still wary.
“There are still a lot of people coming in saying if we do a party we”™d love to do it here; but there”™s still tentativeness,” Sternlicht said. Businesses have started to bring back their social events, “but it is by no means a flood.”
Sternlicht said not being tied to one type of event has been a real advantage.
“We are hoping that we will start to get more gay marriages here. It is an alternative space, it”™s not religious, and it”™s not a traditional country club, being a space where you can really be anyone you want to be has been a great benefit.”
To gain future business Sternlicht has also begun a membership teen program for 13- to 16-year-olds.
“We put together a board of 12 kids from four different schools who are going to be members of the studio space,” Sternlicht said. “It”™s a membership fee of $300 each year and we hope to get 200 kids. Parents have been very responsive to the idea of giving these kids somewhere to go that is secure and safe.”
Sternlicht will be kicking off the program at the end of September.
