The Backstage Event Center brings a pastoral touch to your event

As the wedding season begins, you may find yourself a guest at The Backstage Event Center, one of Cincinnati’s most rustic and unique settings.

Nick Sanders, the owner, says The Backstage Event Center stands out among other venues because of its ideal location—right in the heart of Cincinnati’s Business District—and its combination of outdoor and rustic decor.

Located on the second floor of Nicholson’s Fine Food and Whisk(e)y, The Backstage Event Center features a rustic design that guests can either enhance with their own decor or leave as is. Either way, Sanders says, the venue is flexible to meet the needs of each event.

With exposed brick, hardwood floors, an art-deco glass elevator and patios with stunning views of the city, this venue is one that is hard to beat.

From business meetings to wedding rehearsals and receptions, Sanders says it’s neat to see people spend their special occasions with The Backstage Event Center.

“We are happy to report good, fantastic feedback from people,” Sanders says. “They love the setting for what it is they are trying to accomplish.”

Guests can also use the venue’s “cousin room,” as Sanders describes it. Located downstairs, behind Nicholson’s, is the Garden Room with an outdoor patio.

“It used to just be part of our dining in Nicholson’s, but when we expanded Nicholson’s into the Horse & Barrel [Bourbon Bar] space, taking that wall out, we kind of replaced that day-to-day seating with that square footage and then turned the back room into a smaller venue for smaller parties,” Sanders says.

Nicholson’s has been at its current location for over 25 years, Sanders says. The upstairs venue, where the event center is now located, has been various restaurants over the years that could not “stand the test of time.” Sanders and others decided that maybe a restaurant wasn’t the best venue for that location.

“There was a lack of event center spaces in the downtown area, and that would be the highest and best use for it,” Sanders says. “People just don’t seem to be prone to go upstairs to a restaurant, but going upstairs for an event is a different set of circumstances.”

With a slight revamp of the downstairs and upstairs, the new event venue was born. The feedback has been outstanding, with guests raving about the center.

“I’m thrilled that we’ve gotten, basically, universal acclaim, if I may use that term,” Sanders says. “People have just given us great feedback about the way it feels, the choices we have for them, and the food and beverage service. And then the hospitality that our people provide them and how accommodating we are in helping them before, during and after the event.”