Royal Center business picking up steam again after 3 years of rebuilding
Darl Berkshire remembers sitting in the Berkley Event Center three years ago and hearing a loud pop.
There had been strong winds the night before.
He and family members who help run the event center heard another pop. Then, the roof began to sag. The crew moseyed out of the building and watched as the building's original 1975 roof collapsed, brining most of the structure down with it.
It was a tough sight. It was the family business.
They had been setting up for a substantial indoor yard sale, a part of Royal Center's Pioneer Days, when the roof came down.
The building's collapse also on the tailwinds of COVID-19 lockdowns, when supply chain issues brought things like construction to a sluggish pace. Throw in some complications with building permits, and it wound up taking a total of three years to get the event center back up and running.
Now, Berkshire said, the event center has nearly doubled in size and the new renovations are steadily hosting more and more events as the Royal Center business picks up steam.
The 4,800-square-foot event space is able to host somewhere around 300 people at one time.
The business hosts things like auctions, birthdays, farm toy shows, art shows and has hosted one wedding so far with another coming in about a year. It's starting to fill up with graduation parties, too, Berkshire said.
'Basically, we're set up for almost about anything,' Berkshire said, pointing out the center's speakers, lights, handful of television screens and DJ station.
Among the most memorable events to Steve Raderstorf, the event center's general manager, was a birthday party Nerf war. The event center had recently finished an auction, and used the old boxes to make a fort for the kids.
The event center also has a kitchen, he pointed out, that serves dishes from his mother's recipes and is able to host caterers. His mother chimed in to explain her Spanish sauce is likely the most popular item on the menu. She gets final say on all the dishes before they're ready to serve.
Berkshire explained the family purchased the event center after he got a back injury working at the Small Parts factory in Logansport. They started with auctions.
Berkshire's older brother and sister-in-law had already been running bingo at the American Legion so, after a while, they decided to move the games to the event center.
Then Berkley Event Center re-opened in February, the owners celebrated its return with bingo night. The weekly games bring in a decent crowd, Berkshire explained, with people coming in from surrounding counties. Participants have to be 18 or older to play, and the oldest regular is a 102-year-old who has instructed everyone to refer to her simply as 'Grandma.'
Bingo is hosted every Sunday, barring major holidays, with doors opening at 11 a.m. and the early bird games set to begin at 1 p.m. $25 covers nearly every game, Berkshire added.
The event center's pull tabs are also fairly popular, Berkshire explained. According to the owners' largest supplier, Berkley Event Center sells the most pull tabs out of any nearby community with a comparable population.
Running the event center has been a bit of a learning experience, Berkshire explained. The key bit, he's found, is simply knowing how to work with people. He added it isn't too unusual for the staff to help customers however they can, even if that means grabbing a blanket to make someone more comfortable.
Pricing for events varies depending on a few factors, such as if customers want a DJ or provided food, Berkshire explained. To book an event at the Berkley Event Center, call 574-643-2222.
'The main thing we want to get through to everybody is we're here and we're not here to gouge,' Raderstorf explained. He later added, 'We want this to work and want families to get back together. That's the main thing.'
Berkshire agreed.
'Our root cause for everything is family oriented,' he said, explaining the name Berkley is a cross between the owners' last name and 'family.'
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