Venue Seven of Fort Worth
5240 N. Tarrant Pkwy.
Fort Worth 76137
817-677-8084
www.venuesevenevents.com
North Fort Worth’s newest event venue is the result of a crisis the owners experienced shortly before a high school graduation party they had planned for their daughter.
When their Fort Worth home flooded, Keitha Thompson and Harry Williams had to scramble to find another place to host the party. To their dismay, the options available were expensive and had a lot of restrictions attached.
The experience got their entrepreneurial juices flowing and put them on the path to creating an event venue that would be new and modern, flexible and affordable.
“Harry and I both come from big families that love to get together and entertain,” Thompson said. “We always kind of had in the back of our minds to own an event venue but we never fleshed it out.”
Thompson, who works in accounting, and Williams, a supervisor at a business center, hired a commercial real estate broker to help them find a space to lease for their new venture. They looked all over Fort Worth, including their first choice of downtown, but they couldn’t find a suitable space with on-site parking.
They expanded their search, which led to a two-story building in North Fort Worth that turned out to be exactly what they were seeking. The couple signed a lease in January and got busy making plans to open their new event venue.
“This is the perfect place because there a lot of homes but not a lot of event venues besides recreation centers,” she said.
Built in 2009, the building’s owner intended to finish it out for whatever type of tenant leased it. It was never leased and the building was sold to a new owner in 2011, Thompson said.
“We are the first tenants so we got to choose the colors and finish out,” she said.
The couple chose a clean, contemporary look of black and white.
The stand-alone building at 5240 N. Tarrant Parkway is nestled within a shopping center called So High Village. Its hilltop vantage point offers a panoramic view of the area, especially from the second floor.
Thompson said the name Venue Seven of Fort Worth of incorporates her lucky number of seven also has Biblical significance, which is important to the family.
The facility boasts 5,300 square feet of indoor space plus 2,500 square feet of outdoor patio space and a 500-square-foot second-floor balcony.
The various spaces offer versatility for events ranging from weddings, rehearsal dinners, business meetings, training seminars, charity functions and birthday parties. The facility can accommodate up to about 240 people.
Since its grand opening May 6, the venue has already hosted weddings, birthday parties and a business meeting. Promotional pricing is $150 per hour on weekdays with no time minimum and $250-$350 per hour on weekends with a four-hour minimum.
“It’s already taken off,” Thompson said. “We are almost booked for June and July and September and October are filling up.”
The venue has an open vendor policy and rental reservations include tables, chairs and white linens to accommodate maximum capacity. The facility also offers complimentary parking, a preparation kitchen and an on-site manager during the event.
Thompson and Williams are keeping their jobs for the time being but their plan is to make this business a true family affair.