With events on the back burner, Cambridge venue puts its kitchen to work
Tapestry Hall offering meal service in a pandemic pivot
CAMBRIDGE— Heading into their first spring and summer season, the staff at the new Tapestry Hall event space in Galt’s Gaslight District were gearing up for a busy few months.
They’d opened in November, and a strong Christmas season had carried over into January and February. The calendar ahead was filling up with weddings, shows and corporate events.
“We were going into what was set to be a very profitable season,” said Christina Marshall, director of business development for the Gaslight Events Company, which operates Tapestry Hall.
And then, well, we all know what happened then.
Coronavirus cancellations and postponements started flooding in, and the doors to the repurposed old industrial space were closed. “When we had to postpone events, there were a few tears,” Marshall said. “We don’t want to lose our business. We don’t want to give up.” They might not have any events to host right now, but they do have a commercial kitchen, and a culinary director, Andrew Ellerby, who formerly served as executive chef for Mark McEwan’s McEwan Group.
They’d thought about offering a food delivery service, maybe two or three years down the line. But in a pandemic, there’s no time like the present.
So Tapestry Hall is offering a prepared meal service, with dishes such as chicken Parmesan, porchetta, chicken pot pie and southwest quinoa salad, available alongside comfort foods such as pizza and mac and cheese. They’re planning on introducing a barbecue selection in May.
The meals are designed to be heated and served; they’re freezable and reheatable as well. Beer from Foundry Brewing and bottles of wine can also be added on to orders. Pickup and delivery options are available.
Tapestry Hall is donating $1 from every order to food banks in Waterloo Region, and there are links on the website if people want to contribute more.
The quick business pivot is also keeping some of Tapestry Hall’s staff working. In event mode, Tapestry Hall employed more than 25 core and temporary or part-time staff. Now, seven people are working, and the hope is that more will be called back as the meal service picks up.
“It’s been really stressful, in a good way,” Marshall said. “We thrive on energy and we thrive on excitement in our business.”