Manteca banquet, meeting, and gathering space keeps growing.
The City of Manteca issued a remodeling permit for a second Vernada banquet hall along Moffat Boulevard immediately south of the Veranda Gardens banquet hall that is already well into its makeover from its previous use as a showroom for Aqua Pool & Supply.
Each building consists of 8,000 square feet. Each will be able to accommodate 200 people.
It is arguably the highest profile meeting facility in the Northern San Joaquin Valley as it is by the 120 Bypass/Highway 99 interchange where more than 150,000 vehicles pass daily.
The twin banquet halls are being pursued by the owners of the elegant Veranda Banquet & Events Center in downtown.
They transformed the structure that once housed the El Rey Theatre that was dubbed the “Grand Dame” of Manteca when it opened in 1937.
In addition, they have purchased another furniture store — Legacy Furniture Gallery — directly across the street from the Veranda Events Center in the 100 block of East Yosemite.
They may be using the space to open several restaurants as well as provide storage space.
The downtown Vernada has three distinctive areas:
*The Ballroom with a grand staircase that can seat between 300 and 500 people.
*The Veranda with a capacity of 250.
*The Rooftop with a capacity of 300.
It also has a commercial kitchen specializing in authentic Indian food as well as Hispanic American, Italian, and Persian cuisines.
When combined with existing and planned commercial events center/banquet space such as The Emory, Great Wolf, and Shez Shari there will be a local capacity for 3,700 people at various venues.
Included in that count is The Villa Banchetto events and banquet hall approved along with the city’s second bowling alley and family fun center on Atherton Drive midway between Union Road and Airport Way.
The Atherton Drive banquet hall/conference center will include:
*three 200-person capacity rooms,
*two 100-person capacity rooms.
*16,400 square feet of assembly space.
*two chapels.
*six brides and grooms dressing rooms.
*large full-service kitchen with two complete service lines, one for domestic food preparation and one for ethnic food preparation.
*full video center for live recording of events.
Square footage in terms of using space for banquets, events, and weddings Villa Banchetto will have 16,400 square feet of usable space compared to Great Wolf’s 5,652 square feet.
The fact it has three times the events center than Great Wolf gives you an idea of what the Villa Banchetto will offer.
Electric vehicle show is
Sept. 28 at Orchard Valley
The Electric Vehicle Association, the Sierra Club, EVHybridNoire, and Drive Electric USA are hosting the Electric Vehicle Expo on Saturday, Sept. 28, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Promenade Shops at Orchard Valley, Union Road and Atherton Drive.
Those dropping by will be able to talk with EV owners and others with expertise as well as ride and even drive various EV makes and models.
The event is in celebration of National Drive Electric Week.
Permits issued for
more storage units
The Arco's Storage Facility located at 1654 N. Main Street is expanding.
A permit was issued for a new $1.5M construction project consisting of 11 storage buildings that will add an additional 77,860 square feet of the existing storage facility.
It is being built on land that once accommodated the northbound Highway 99 flyover onramp from Manin Street that was eliminated when the new Lathrop Road interchange was constructed in 2012.
Manteca Police
Activity for August
Manteca Police in August handled 3,720 calls for service.
Officers also took 557 reports, conducted 403 traffic stops, made 212 arrests, and issued 272 citations.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
