Reception Venue that allows outside catering

upgirl9190

We are looking for a reception venue that will allow us to use our own caterer in the metro-Detroit area, preferably the western suburbs (Livonia, Novi, Plymouth, Milford, Brighton, etc.) that can hold ~250 people.

kimmiinthemitten

Do you want an outside caterer because you have a company you want to use exclusively or for faith/dietary restrictions? If it's for the latter, most will allow exceptions, if for the first reason ask your caterer for ideas. I didn't look in the west side but I'll brainstorm and ask my friend who is in catering for you. If you're interested in downtown, there are quite a few more venues. I'm guessing Suburban Collection Showplace would though. You may also want to ask the Livonia Italan American hall (nameish).

upgirl9190

We just have a favorite caterer my family has used for years. She only charges $10/plate for 3 meats, 1 pasta, 1 veggie, 1 potato, salad and rolls. Most venues that provide catering are $25+/ person. More of a cost saving thing.

kimmiinthemitten

Makes sense to me.  I'm using a caterer I know and even work for on occasion .

I didn't specifically look over here but below are the venues I found that allow off-site catering when I was looking.  Good luck!

30 North Pontiac (my venue:))

Royal Oak Farmers Market

Piquette Plant Detroit

Crofoot Ballroom Pontiac (for a fee)

GL Culinary Center Southfield

Rust Belt Market Ferndale

Russell Industrial Center Detroit

MOCAD Detroit (Museum of Contemporary Art)

[Deleted User]

What a great list...thank you so much for posting that! I'm trying to find a venue that has it's own ambiance but will allow an outside caterer...harder than you'd think. :-p

Anyway, thanks for the head start.

kimmiinthemitten

amandalsheridan said:

The Piquette Plant in Detroit is AMAZING! So unique and lets you bring in outside catering. Check out more on the Mitten Brides blog or follow us on Facebook!

http://mittenbrides.weebly.com/blog/michigan-wedding-city-spotlight-detroit

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mitten-Brides/1608773776028343

The Piquette Plant is amazing, I'll give you that.  It was a top choice for us until we toured it.  Here's what we disliked:

1.  You have to choose from their caterers, you can't bring in your own.  Their caterers do range from Slows BBQ to Forte Belanger, so there is range in pricing and tastes, but if you have your own caterer not on their list, you can't use the venue.  Plus there is no kitchen on site, so I'd imagine the actual menu selections to be limited.

2.  The smell.  This actually did not bother me because I'm in industrial sales so I'm in plants all day but FI was overwhelmed by the smell of engine oil.

3.  It's not accessible, so if you have any disabled or elderly with mobility problems this facility doesn't work.  The only elevator is a freight elevator and the floors are original and therefore very uneven.  

If you like the idea of the Piquette but want something more flexible I'd use the Packard Proving Grounds.  They also allow outside catering, have a couple old cars on the lot, but everything is ground level and on concrete so there aren't the trip hazards, the space for catering is at least 3x the size of the space given at PP so there's more flexibility for your catering staff and the actual floor space for the reception is about 2x as big.

Edited to add link

Weddingbunnyfox

That is an amazing price on your caterer... I'm in the process of looking for one right now. May I ask the name of your caterer if you don't mind?

upgirl9190

Nicole's Catering (http://nicolescateringllc.com/about.html) Her mom used to run the catering business and now the daughter has taken it over. Her specialty is Polish food (which is what my family is), everyone loves her city chicken and meatballs. We did find a hall where she is a preferred caterer, Knights Banquet Hall in Utica, MI. The hall charges $9/ person for waitstaff, bartenders, china, tables, chairs, cloth table clothes, colored cloth napkins, pop, coffee, and drink mixers. So for $18/person we got the hall and food. The hall is bring your own liquor/kegs and that is saving us a ton of money! (http://uticakofc.com/banquet-hall)

kimmiinthemitten

Where did you end up booking?

Knottie1439587523

Thank you for the awesome list. I've tried contacting 30North but has been unable to get a hold of anyone with the phone number listed on their website. Did you run into this issue? Anything helps. Thank you!

kimmiinthemitten

Knottie1439587523 said:

Thank you for the awesome list. I've tried contacting 30North but has been unable to get a hold of anyone with the phone number listed on their website. Did you run into this issue? Anything helps. Thank you!

Oh Roger haha.  No that's who we've booked actually.  Here's his email address, maybe this will work better.  (30.north@att.net)

ETA if I find his cell number I'll PM it to you.