The Social Affair is headed to the Grove.
Kelly Spencer’s catering and event company has found a new home at 4308 Manchester. Along with a larger kitchen and office, it’ll house an event space called The Dogwood in the Grove. A second story will be added to the building, which will include a 700-square-foot open-air patio that looks out onto Manchester Avenue.
Find the best food in St. Louis
Subscribe to the St. Louis Dining In and Dining Out newsletters to stay up-to-date on the local restaurant and culinary scene.
Spencer says The Social Affair has “completely outgrown” its current 1,141-square-foot digs in the Shaw neighborhood. Overall, this new building, which mostly recently was a metal-polishing company, will be 8,000 square feet. Spencer adds she’d been looking for a new space, still in the city, that she could renovate.
“The Grove is full of energy,” she says. “It oozes that urban vibe we were going for. We love the city and wanted to stay in it. There’s nothing like this in the Grove or surrounding areas. We saw there was a need for an event space.”
Built in 1941 as a Kroger grocery store, the Manchester building, after renovation, will include the main kitchen and event space on the first floor. The second floor will include more event space, an office, a prep kitchen, and a bride’s room. It’ll accommodate 125 guests seated, 250 cocktail style. “Our wedding business continues to grow,” Spencer says.
The event space’s name derives from her hometown in Alabama, which was known as “The City of Dogwoods,” and Missouri’s state tree. “It reminds me of my Southern roots and heritage and where I am now and how far we’ve come,” Spencer says.
A tentative debut for The Dogwood in the Grove, as well as the future home of The Social Affair, is slated for March 2019.
