Butler’s Pantry Received Two Awards from International Special Events Society. Our innovative and creative catering, was honored at the 2010 Louie Awards Gala Friday, March 5th at the Palladium Saint Louis. Presented by the St. Louis Chapter of the International Special Events Society (ISES), the 11th Annual Louie Award Gala Celebrates the best events of 2009. Butler’s Pantry and Palladium Saint Louis were recognized with awards in the following categories:

Best Food Presentation for a Private Bithday Party Celebration

Best On-Premise Catered Event (Budget Under $200 Per Guest) for the Landmark’s Association 5oth Anniversary Gala

The Annual Louie Awards recognize the artistry of creating amazing events of magnitude, prestige and inspiration. To enter, event specialists complete a rigorous award entry submission process. Entries are sent out of state to another ISES Chapter to be judged on an unbiased, anonymous basis. The mission of ISES is to educate, advance and promote the special events industry.

It may be hard to imagine that a one-time hospital laundromat could be turned into an elegant events venue, but that’s exactly what has happened at Palladium Saint Louis in Lafayette Square. The space’s dramatic floating mezzanine and soaring, two-story windows with cityscape views are a long way from its previous incarnation as part of City Hospital.

“Palladium Saint Louis is a modern revitalization of a historic 1937 building, and we’ve pulled out all the stops,” says Richard Nix, president of Butler’s Pantry, the catering company behind the new venue. “The space has a sophisticated ambience and sleek contemporary design. It’s not the usual chandeliers-and-tufted-walls look that you find in most hotel ballrooms, but it doesn’t seem like a bar or disco, either. It’s elegant and unique.”

The venue officially opens Saturday, Nov. 7, appropriately with a benefit gala celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Landmarks Association of St. Louis.
by Tony DiMartino

For the entire article visit Ladue News and be sure to check out all that Palladium Saint Louis has to offer!

Butler’s Pantry joined forces with Fleurish for the third time to design an outstanding tabletop at the 2009 St. Louis Children’s Hospital Tabletop Event.  This year’s event was held on April 21st at the Ritz-Carlton and raises more than $100,000 annually.  This one-of-a-kind luncheon featured imaginative tabletop designs by more than 50 of St. Louis’ finest florists, decorators and vendors.

 This year Butler’s Pantry was inspired by our newest venue, Palladium Saint Louis.  This new venue is located downtown, near Lafayette Square, and draws its style from its mix of modern finishes and traditional architecture.  The focal point of our table was a handmade lightbox topped with frosted plexiglass.  Fleurish helped Butler’s Pantry to design floral arrangements of mini calla lilies, coffee break roses, and cymbidium and aranthera orchids.  Placed in varied sizes of glass cylinders, these arrangements were laid out in concentric circle to mimic the logo of Palladium Saint Louis.  The whole table glowed from within atop the lightbox.

Silver Bengaline tablecloths from BBJ Linen and stainless steel chairs created the framework for the outer rim of tables and reflected the silvery-white nature of the Palladium.  Glass tiles in a cool green and metallic color scheme sat atop of the tablecloths and acted as modern placemats.  Contemporary place settings were created with sleek, recti-linear chargers, along with flatware and glassware from Premier Party Rentals and The Aries Company.  Each guest was given a glass gift box, adorned with a hand wired orchid and filled with silver jordan almonds as a keepsake.

Butler’s Pantry was proud to be a part of this great event to benefit St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

By Gail Appleson

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

For the once-decaying St. Louis City Hospital, the table is being set for another tenant.

Richard Nix Jr., owner of a St. Louis catering service, is in the midst of moving his business to what served as the hospital’s laundry building decades ago.

Butler’s Pantry, one of Missouri’s largest caterers, will continue its 42-year tradition of service with a surprise on the menu: a venue that will host weddings, corporate parties and other extravaganzas. Butler’s Pantry’s new banquet hall will be called the Palladium St. Louis; Nix has been looking for such a site for the last 10 years.

“I wanted to be in the city,” he said. “I love the proximity to the highways. Our trucks are always on the move. And I really feel like this is a connector piece between Soulard and downtown.”
Butler’s Pantry, which will move from 5385 Arsenal Street to 1414 Park Avenue, currently employs about 300 part-time and 30 full-time employees. Nix plans to hire an additional eight full-time and 25 part-time employees for the Palladium at 1400 Park Place. Although the hall is not opening until the spring, Nix is already taking reservations.

“I think it will be a big plus for the neighborhood and the city and we’ll have another event place near downtown,” said Phyllis Young, alderman for the 7th Ward where Butler’s Pantry will be located.

“The building they are taking over is amazing since they have been refurbishing it,” she said about the former laundry that will be used for the Palladium. “It makes people stop and look at what’s going on. Think how much it’s changed in the last five years. It’s come a long way from being a hospital complex.

The company will move its warehouse, office and commissary space into a separate 18,000-square-foot building now being constructed on the former hospital grounds.

The office/commissary building and Palladium are part of the 13-acre Georgian Square mixed-use project that encompasses the hospital and its ancillary buildings, which are located in the Bohemian Hill neighborhood that sits between Soulard and Lafayette Square.

The hospital, which had originally been built in 1845 to serve the indigent of a cholera-infested city, had been slated for demolition when Gilded Age developers Chris Goodson and Trace Shaughnessy purchased the property in 2005.

The first phase of the project was the $30 million renovation of the hospital to create 104 condominiums, 86 of which have been purchased, Goodson said.

The Butler’s Pantry and Palladium section is part of the $27 million second phase that includes the renovation of the 20,000-square-foot power plant building, which the developers hope will house a restaurant and offices.

Nix’s decision to open the Palladium and office building in the Georgian Square development was the “linchpen” in getting bank financing to move the project past its initial residential phase, Shaughnessy said.

“The big thing was it put the next piece into the mixed-used development,” he said.

Young said Butler’s Pantry commitment is also helping to stabilize the first phase of residential development.

The investment by the well-established caterer serves as testimony to Nix’s faith in the area and its long-term viability, said Goodson. Nix has invested more than $3 million into the project.

Nix said he believes the investment will pay off and that the Palladium promises to become a destination spot, particularly with a growing trend by brides and grooms to have receptions at venues other than hotels.

When completed, the 8,000-square-foot structure will be able to hold 700 people. It will have two levels with the rebuilding of a mezzanine that wraps around the room and windows two stories high.

“It’s a historic building with great city views,” Nix said.

Butler’s Pantry began negotiating the deal more than a year ago, before the economy worsened and the stock market plunged, he said.

“Obviously we’re worried about the economy. Catering is a discretionary expense, but we feel confident about our brand,” Nix said. “We built this because our business is growing.”

While companies might be spending less, Nix said clients have not cancelled any holiday parties. He said bookings for Christmas are about the same as last year when the catering company did about $600,000 in business.

“It might be a little down from that this year,” he said.

“We’ve seen people be more budget conscious, but it’s made us be more creative with our menus,” Nix said. “And on the positive side, people might turn to catering at home or in an office setting instead of a more elaborate country club setting.”

Butler’s Pantry to Open Premier Event Venue in Historic Lafayette Square

Butler’s Pantry, St. Louis’ most innovative and creative catering company, is transforming the former laundry facility of the City Hospital into a premier event space—the Palladium. Built in 1937, the building had languished in Lafayette Square for years. Now restoration of this historic building is underway and the Palladium’s first event is scheduled for Fall 2009.

“The Palladium has been a dream of mine for a long time,” said Richard Nix Jr., president of Butler’s Pantry. “A venue of this caliber will make a great addition to St. Louis’ downtown scene.”

Butler’s Pantry hired architect Mark Herman to design the former laundry building’s metamorphosis into a glamorous and hip venue. His interior designer is creating a sophisticated ambiance with a sleek and modern decor.

When finished, Palladium St. Louis will be a spectacular space designed to accommodate up to an astounding 700 people. The chef’s kitchen will span three stories and will be equipped to create gourmet food for guests. Palladium guests will enjoy dining and dancing the night away in the gorgeous Palladium, with its two-story windows overlooking the historic Lafayette Square neighborhood.