New Spencer venue offers ‘Exceptional Occasions’
By Valorie Brecht Becky Gorst has big dreams for her new building on the north end of Spencer. Besides housing her insurance business, she also plans to use the building, which she has dubbed “Uptown Plaza,” as an event venue for gatherings large and small. She has a few other ideas in the works as well, including transforming one front-facing room into a sit-down cafe.
All of her ideas revolve around bringing the community together to celebrate, collaborate or simply connect.
When Becky and her husband James decided to build a building, they kept an eye towards the future, looking for other things they could do with the space besides have it serve as a home for their business.
“We wanted to offer a rental space to our community,” said Becky.
They decided to go big with a 5,000-square-foot banquet hall for weddings, luncheons, corporate meetings and other gatherings. The hall, named “Exceptional Occasions,” holds up to 350 people. It has a modern/industrial look, with grey walls, a black ceiling and exposed piping. Becky purposely kept the color scheme neutral so it could be customized and decorated to fit whatever event is taking place.
Becky envisioned using the space for wedding receptions or weddings themselves, as there is a lack of venues in Spencer and the immediate surrounding area, and Marshfield venues are more expensive and bookings fill up quickly.
Funeral lunches were another potential use that came to mind, as people’s funerals do not always happen in a church nowadays and even if they are in a church, the basements/fellowship halls of older churches may not be the most accessible for elderly people nor easily able to accommodate a large group of people. Another potential use for the hall would be large corporate gatherings, such as union meetings, a chamber of commerce banquet or company party.
Becky will offer a day rate for events and a separate rate just for weddings. The wedding rate will be higher because it will include use of the facility for the entire weekend, as well as use of items such as table linens, backdrops that can go behind the head table and other decorations. If the hall is booked for a wedding, it will also include access to a small conference room and kitchen just down the hall that the caterer can use for food preparation, staging and storage.
There will also be a bar off the east end of the hall, used only for events. The facility has a liquor license for that purpose. Becky plans to eventually have a cement slab poured outside with a covered area for seating. In addition to turning it into a versatile indoor-outdoor venue for weddings, the patio opens up more opportunities for using the space. Becky would like to eventually host outdoor music on the patio, with guest musicians playing one night a week during the summer. People could come enjoy drinks and listen to music.
In addition to the large banquet hall, there is a smaller space that can be used for more intimate gatherings, such as a birthday party, family reunion or graduation party. The conference room, which is towards the back of the building, can seat 100 people and can be rented out for a daily rate. There is an attached kitchen and restrooms. The room has already been used for Booster Club registration nights and Medicare seminars such as “The ABCs of Medicare.” Becky also has bridal showers and a retirement party scheduled for that space.
Another initiative for Uptown Plaza that Becky is particularly excited about is a restaurant called “The Breakfast Nook.” Gorst plans to hire a chef who is currently finishing up school and open sometime this September.
“We want it to be a homey, sit-and-relax, comfy kind of place,” she said.
The restaurant will offer coffee, breakfast and lunch. Becky said there are not a lot of places for people to hang out in the community, nor any sit-down restaurants besides a bar and grill, so this would endeavor to fill that gap.
“I am very community-oriented, so I just wanted to give people a place where they could come and sit and have coffee, and read a book and, you know, whatever. Just hang out,” she added.
Becky’s daughter plans to open a popup ice cream shop there in the summers, starting in 2025.
One other fun idea is Becky plans to offer video archery in the banquet hall, as an indoor attraction when the hall is not being used for events. There will be a screen set up on one end of the hall. Users shoot practice arrows from their actual bow through a sensor at a screen on the other end of the room that depicts animals or other targets.
Becky is committed to furthering the community where she was raised, including meeting the need for a community gathering space.
“I’m excited to offer the space and provide that option for people,” she said. “We’re looking in putting in a pond down the road. I think it will be a really good value and a lot of fun.”
Timeline The Gorsts officially broke ground on the facility in July of last year and started building in late August. In February, Becky’s insurance business, Spectrum Benefit Solutions of Central Wisconsin, moved into the north end of the building.
“We had a lot of Spencer people working from home, but now they’re under one roof,” said Becky, who bought the business from its previous owners in 2019.
She said it’s been beneficial to bring
Please see Exceptional Occasions, page 9
VALORIE BRECHT/ STAFF PHOTOS
