Ovations has introduced two new portable, interactive food and beverage concepts—The Kitchen and The Bar—at the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Convention Center with plans to bring them to all new venues as well as implement them at existing properties. The Kitchen is a modular space where chefs can prepare dishes in front of guests, complete with large overhead adjustable mirrors to give more guests a front-row seat to the cooking action. Like The Kitchen, The Bar is also portable and modular, but for mixologists. The pieces can be set up almost anywhere, as long as there is power to run equipment like refrigeration.
The idea sprouted from comments from Ovations operators that guests enjoy more communal activity, and the traditional banquet setup of small bars and chafing dishes isn’t conducive to social interaction.
“The old way of doing things, for bars, has been that you go and get in line, and you lose contact with people you might have been talking to in order to get a drink,” said Charles Lawrence, Ovations VP of business development. “You stand in a single-file line to get a drink. You don’t talk to anybody. So we asked how we could do it in a better way.”
The Bar, Ovation's mobile beverage concept
The Bar is completely portable, giving the venue the ability to break it up into five separate, smaller pieces that look like the traditional, simple, small bars normally found in a banquet facility.
When put together, however, The Bar is full-service, featuring holding tanks for water and built-in refrigeration. As artisan cocktails and mixology continue to trend, a space to craft out-of-the-ordinary beverage options creates opportunity for upcharging. Plus, “the client is happy because they get a unique drink from the bar,” Lawrence said.
It looks sleek, a far cry from the small, boxy bar normally found at banquets and other events. The Bar has some seating and some space for people to stand. “We wanted it so people feel comfortable elbowing up to it,” Lawrence said.
The Kitchen allows cooking that would normally be done in the back to come to the front of the house, giving guests more interaction with staff as well as the ability to ask questions and customize meals as they’re being made. “It’s a social environment where we have chefs that are talking to our guests in an atmosphere that’s comfortable and relaxed,” Lawrence said. Some of the preparation is still done in the back of the house, such as chopping ingredients, but the majority of it is done in plain sight. “Rolling fresh sushi, sautéing vegetables, dessert prep—it hits the whole gamut.”
Depending on the finishes, The Bar units range between $35,000 and $50,000, and The Kitchen units range between $45,000 and $75,000 to purchase. Event clients are not charged extra to have The Bar or The Kitchen at their event, because the units offer the ability to serve signature menu items and premium cocktails.
The idea falls in line with Ovations’ plan to eliminate chafing dishes in banquet settings and create a more interactive environment, both between guests and servers and among themselves.
Ovations plans to utilize the concepts for tastings with meeting and event planners, and invited community members and event planning professionals to Sioux Falls Convention Center May 14 to experience them. “It was an exciting response and people really like it,” Lawrence explained. “We hear a lot of people saying, ‘We wish we would have thought of this.’”
Interviewed for this story: Charles Lawrence, (813) 909-2178 x 121
