Great News! Super Early Bird Rates Extended to November 29!
- 00Days
- 00Hrs
- 00Mins
- 00Secs
A Taste of Austin Venue Tour
Monday, February 12
1:00pm - 5:00pm
EVENT DETAILS
Event Type: Tour of Austin venues showcasing event capabilities. Lite bites and beverages will be provided by each venue.
Transportation: Buses depart Austin Convention Center on Trinity Street side – outside of Solar Atrium at 1:00pm.
Tickets: Required for entry.
Welcome to the vibrant city of Austin, where culinary excellence meets unparalleled charm! As part of the Catersource + The Special Event show, we invite event professionals to join us for an exclusive "Taste of Austin" Venue Tour. Kick off your experience by exploring the eclectic vibes of Rainey Street and journey to the rustic allure of Driftwood – all in one unforgettable tour!
Savor delectable small bites that showcase Austin's diverse culinary scene, paired with refreshing beverages to tantalize your taste buds. Enjoy a picturesque setting paired with curated bites and craft beverages that highlight the local flavors.
During the tour, connect with fellow event professionals in an intimate setting to exchange ideas, share experiences, and expand your network. Also enjoy live entertainment and fun from local musicians and entertainers setting the perfect vibe to experience the lively spirit that makes Austin a haven for creativity and culture.
Embark on the journey that celebrates the essence of Austin's food, music, and hospitality. Join us for the Taste of Austin Venue Tour filled with flavor, fun, and fantastic connections – the perfect start to your Catersource + The Special Event experience in Austin, Texas!
Showcasing Chairs
Katie Lenns, LennsFest Events
With over fifteen years of experience in the events and entertainment industry, Katie began perfecting the art of event planning as a student at Georgetown University. After several years in the sporting world, she founded LennsFest Events in 2016 and has since strategically produced and collaborated on events ranging from weddings and high-profile parties to professional sports tournaments and the world's largest pro-am. Katie’s passion for traveling enables her to draw from a wide range of experiences and a diverse professional network. Her company produces events across the US as well as abroad. Her skill, enthusiasm and determination can be seen in the details of her events, and she attributes her success to her “love of the game”. Katie is constantly striving to enhance her expertise and is serving as a Showcasing Event Chair for this year’s Catersource/TSE event. When she is not working events, Katie is hanging out with her husband and babies and diving into her latest project focused on encouraging parents to travel with their kids.
Sean O'Neill, Crafter's Cocktails
Originally from London, England and now based in Austin, Texas, Sean O’Neill has become a craft cocktail visionary with over 17 years of experience. He began bartending in and around Atlantic City where he developed his flair for mixology. After moving to Austin in 2016, he expanded his knowledge to the world of craft beer, though his passion has always remained in craft cocktails. In 2020 with the bars shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sean started creating cocktail mixers and delivering them to his neighbors so people could make their own cocktails while stuck at home. It quickly grew into Crafter’s Cocktails, a business that now serves the greater Austin area and continues to grow. Sean now hones his craft as the AGM of Stay Put Brewery and Bevies on Rainey Street and the owner and operator of Crafter’s Cocktails, which has developed from a delivery based business to an on-site bartending experience where Sean works closely with clients to develop fun and innovative cocktails to wow guests. Sean was the winner of the 2022 Catersource Swizzle Competition and is now serving as a Showcasing Event Chair for this year’s Catersource/TSE event.
Venue
Vista Brewing
Catersource guests will enjoy a Texas brewpub experience with a beer flight of four of Vista’s most popular brews paired with locally sourced hors d'oeuvres , plus an in-depth brewery tour with the founders showcasing Vista’s focus on locally sourced brewing ingredients and water conservation. Vista is an immersive 21-acre destination property nestled in the Texas Hill Country just southwest of Austin with a brewery & tasting room, farm-to-table restaurant, organic farm, apiary, walking trails, live music and private event spaces. Vista is a unique “one stop shop” with experiential events on property serviced by their own farm-to-table catering, award-winning beer and local wines.
Venue
Banger's Sausage House & Beer Garden
The name really says it all, we are committed to serving up the highest quality homemade sausage and local and hard to find craft beer right here in Austin. With one of the largest tap systems in Austin, 200+ taps to be exact, we're sure that there is some on our wall you will love. Our on staff Certified Cicerone selects local Texas brews along with other craft beer across the country and there are never duplicate beers on our tap wall. Just about all of our sausage is made in house and we feature 20 different types that are sure to satisfy any appetite. At the end of the day Banger's is all about being a wonderful place to eat, drink and hangout. Not too rowdy, not too laid back, just a good old fashioned good time. We understand that the best way isn't always the fastest or easiest way, and we're ok with that. We believe that quality food, made from scratch, can still be sold at an honest price. We have a commitment to excellence and deeply believe in the principal of hospitality. Oh, and we almost forgot to mention our live music stage that was built into the back of a 107 year old house. This one of a kind concept, unique to Austin, strives to embody the soul of the city.
Venue
The Stay Put Brewery
73 Rainey St.
Austin, TX 78701
Housed in a restored Calcasieu bungalow circa 1920, The Stay Put Brewery is a gathering place for the community that offers a welcoming reprieve for folks to settle in and stay put. With fresh brews, delicious bevies, communal seating, an expansive patio with a heritage 120-year-old pecan tree, games, and plenty of TVs — The Stay Put is your neighborhood watering hole.
Venue
Desert Door Distillery
211 Darden Hill Rd
Driftwood, TX 78619
Desert Door’s story actually begins hundreds of years ago. The archeological record shows the indigenous people of what is now West Texas using the sotol plant to create a fermented beverage. Centuries later, prohibition-era Texans made moonshine from the spiky plant. So what is sotol, exactly? Sotol is both the name of our distilled spirit and the plant that it’s made from. The sotol plant is a bright green succulent with a tall shooting stalk that grows wild all over the Chihuahua desert. The founders of Desert Door first happened upon sotol while hunting the Trans-Pecos. The more they learned about the hardy desert plant, the more fascinated they became. There is no recipe for the sotol spirit; our founders formulated Desert Door’s proprietary process through a lot of trial and error. While there are similarities between sotol and tequila, the sotol plant is not an agave (different family, genus and species). Consequently, Desert Door is not a tequila or mezcal but lives in a category of its own. We call it Texas Sotol. You’ll call it unique, earthy, and delicious.
