Hamilton couple out $8,000 deposit after wedding venue closes

Hamilton Spectator

25-05-2025

Thomas Coleman and Alina Raposo have been counting down the days until their wedding reception at The Grand Olympia for more than a year.
The Hamilton couple paid their $8,253 deposit, had a food tasting in March and hosted Raposo's bridal shower at the Stoney Creek venue in late April.
Nothing seemed amiss.
'Everything just seemed so normal,' said Coleman in an interview, adding that they chatted with the venue about plans for the reception. 'No one seemed concerned.'
Until last Friday, when Coleman and Raposo saw a post on Facebook about Orchard Park Secondary School students needing to book a new venue for their prom that night, as the parent company of The Grand Olympia, along with Michelangelo Banquet Centre, had
gone into receivership
.
Both of the banquet centres
shut down late last week
, after Ontario's Superior Court of Justice denied a request from its owners for an extension to repay debt.
Michelangelo Banquet Centre and The Grand Olympia were shuttered indefinitely after Ontario's Superior Court of Justice denied a request from its owners for an extension to repay the debt.
According to court records, the two banquet halls and their related companies are owned by a Mississauga-based family that owes more than $14 million to the Bank of Montreal, including around $8.2 million tied to Michelangelo and $6 million for Grand Olympia.
Aftab Elahi, listed as the sole officer and director of Mario's Catering Service and Grand Olympia Realco, the parent companies of the banquet halls, did not respond to an email from The Spectator on Thursday requesting comment.
Calls to both venues also went unanswered Thursday afternoon.
The ripple effect has been considerable, with the indefinite closures affecting events booked by non-profits, industry groups, high school students and soon-to-be married couples, like Coleman and Raposo, whose reception was booked for June 21.
Coleman told The Spectator he reached out to the venue on May 16, and the couple later received an email from management describing the situation as 'a period of operational transition,' adding that the venue was 'not in bankruptcy.'
The email, shared with The Spectator, noted that the company was working to 'stabilize and strengthen' its services and to restore operations, with the 'goal of resuming all events at full capacity as soon as possible.'
The couple also reached out to their event co-ordinator, and she repeated similar talking points.
Coleman said they didn't hear from the venue again until Tuesday evening, when they got an email claiming the business was 'headed in the right direction' and 'on track to be back in operations soon.'
But Coleman said that message contradicted what he'd heard from others about the situation with the venues, including when he reached out to MSI Spergel — who has been appointed as the receiver over both banquet halls.
In an email, also shared with The Spectator, MSI Spergel told Coleman on Wednesday that all events at both venues 'are cancelled' — the first notification of such, not even from the venues.
With their wedding reception just a month away, Coleman said the couple spent last weekend calling venues across Hamilton and as far away as Mississauga to try and rebook their event — and they weren't alone.
Locks were placed on the gates of Michelangelo Banquet Hall last week after its parent company was put in receivership.
'Dates for June were booking up very quickly for people who were left scrambling,' Coleman said. 'It was a lot of pressure for people not wanting to hold out too long waiting, which could have meant potentially losing out on our date that we had.'
Luckily, the couple was able to rebook their reception at Carmen's on Stone Church Road East, not far from their original venue, but still at a significant cost.
Carmen's Group CEO PJ Mercanti told The Spectator their sales and operations team was working to accommodate events, including some planned for the weekend the venues shut down.
Coleman explained that they will likely lose their $8,253 deposit paid for The Grand Olympia, and with some extra costs associated with Carmen's, the venue debacle will end up setting them back roughly $19,000.
MSI Spergel also told Coleman in an email that 'currently there is no claims process,' noting that returns of deposits will be 'dependent on the net realizations under the Receivership and subject to evaluation of all claims, including claims of secured creditors and priorities at law.'
'That's a tough thing to swallow, especially four weeks before our wedding day,' said Coleman.
But with their reception rebooked and only some administrative work to do with notifying guests and vendors, Coleman is hopeful the couple is back on the right track and can enjoy their day, despite the unexpected hurdles.
'Getting the new venue was the first kind of sigh of relief,' said Coleman. 'Obviously, there is still the financial thing, but we just have to keep pushing forward.'