Popular restaurant chain serves up new catering venue
Staff Report, Business Observer, March 2, 2019
Gecko’s Hospitality Group, one of the largest restaurant companies in the Sarasota-Bradenton region, plans to open a catering and event venue in Sarasota later in March.
The new facility, named Signature Events & Catering, has a hint of old, too: it’s in The Landings, the same shopping center south of downtown Sarasota where the original Gecko’s Grill & Pub opened in 1992. The company moved that location further south down U.S. 41, to Stickney Point, in 2017. Signature Events & Catering, at 4870 S. Tamiami Trail, is scheduled to open March 15, according to a statement.
Signature Events & Catering, with an 1,850-square-foot interior and 1,500-square-foot covered patio, will provide seating for up to 150 guests, the release adds. Gecko’s Hospitality Group, in the statement, call the space a “Goldilocks’ sized venue,” good for hosting social and professional events from elegant wedding and dining parties to formal business meetings and seminars.
Mike Gowan and Mike Quillen, co-owners and co-founders of Gecko’s Hospitality Group, worked with Director of Catering Michelle Graber and JKL Design to create a new identity for the venue. The facility also offers a state-of-the-art sound system and projector screen; full AV; custom menus; full bar; and ample parking, the release states.
“Mike & Mike, Chef Shaun Frick and I are excited to welcome our longtime guests to host their events with us in the new venue,” Graber says in the statement. “The kitchen is perfectly suited to expanding our creative capabilities and will serve our onsite and offsite catering demands beautifully.”
Gecko’s Hospitality Group has 650 employees in the region. It operates Smacks Burgers & Shakes in Sarasota; the Dry Dock Waterfront Grill on Longboat key; the Dockside Waterfront Grill in Venice; and the Red Barn Bar in Sarasota; in addition to six Gecko’s Grill & Pub locations.