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Private Dining
for groups up to 80 people
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Private Dining
for groups up to 30 people
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Joe Phillips was named Private Dining Director for Blue Canyon Kitchen * Tavern in Twinsburg, Ohio in January 2005, it was announced by General Manager/ Owner Val Voelker. Phillips originally joined Blue Canyon as Head Server/ Trainer when the restaurant opened its doors in June 2004. Since opening, Joe has coordinated 170 private events at Blue Canyon of which 61 of those were corporate events, not including business gatherings of 10-20 that chose to order directly off the menu.
After spending more than 30 years working in almost every aspect of the restaurant industry Phillips approaches his new position, which includes the planning of corporate and private parties and events, with the same philosophy he's believe since starting.
"Serving is like building a business," says Phillips. "Servers are not just servers. They are salespeople. They need to sell themselves, and then sell the food." Each server at Blue Canyon has business cards to hand out to their tables. Each private dining experience starts with the selection of one of Blue Canyon's six dining rooms. There's the Tavern, Kitchen, Lodge, Porch, Terrace and Great Room. Each room is a new adventure in dining with unique décor and atmosphere.
Phillips joined Blue Canyon after spending five years at Classics Restaurant where he supervised the serving team at the landmark, destination restaurant that specializes in fine dining and serving discriminating, upscale clientele. Prior to that Joe was a Captain at The Leopard, in Aurora. He took full charge responsibility for all front-of-the-house operations of a 120-seat fine dining restaurant.
Blue Canyon's popularity has boomed since opening. A Monday night looks more like a Friday night; Tables full, a short wait at the front door, the wait staff buzzing around. In the Lodge it's likely that there is a party of 15, a couple of tables over, a small rehearsal dinner is toasting their guests of honor. And Joe is taking care of them. His files have gone from a handful to a toppling tower. People are rebooking for next year even before their event this year is complete. His private party numbers went from a handful at a corner table for a business lunch to a party of 100 in the Lodge for a rehearsal dinner. Blue Canyon is averaging a minimum of 20 corporate events per month not including a boom in December due to holiday parties. Along with other private events such as showers, birthdays and rehearsal dinners, private dining generates between 10-15% of Blue Canyon's total revenue. In 2005, they expect it will well exceed 15%.
Phillips believes in creating an unmated dining experience for his guests. He doesn't rely on the menu and encourages Blue Canyon's servers to verbally walk their guests through the selections and get their attention with the details before they've even taken a bite. According to Phillips, "You can go anywhere for a bite to eat, when you come to Blue Canyon, it's an experience."
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