Gillioz scores dining tenant

Ryan Tiller, owner of catering company Dining by Design, has signed on to lease the 6,500-square-foot space on the second floor of the Jim D. Morris Center for the Arts, which sits adjacent to the Gillioz Theatre, 325 Park Central East.

Tiller has begun renovating the interior with architect Butler, Rosenbury & Partners to create a reception space that can seat up to 300 and hold 800 for stand-up events. He plans to be operational Aug. 1.

The reception hall, which Tiller has dubbed Wellington Place, will supplement his booming five-year-old catering business and allow him to hold events without traveling to off-site hotels or convention centers, he said. The hall has a full-service kitchen, and a parking garage one block away can be reserved.

Tiller is hoping his work brings a country club feeling downtown.

“There’s an appeal to having it downtown, and the historic value of the facility – there’s an appeal to that,” he said. “We’ve gone a step above on everything we’re doing to provide a unique, classy experience that’s just not really found locally right now, unless you go to a country club.”

Having adjoined space with the Gillioz has its perks, too, Tiller said. Businesses can hold corporate meetings or other events in the 1,100-seat theater and head next door to Wellington Place for catered meals.

“There can be any number of events in the theater itself that could take advantage of his in-house capacity,” said Nancy Brown Dornan, president of the Gillioz board of directors. “We’re thrilled to be able to have a tenant like Dining by Design that has a very good reputation and a loyal following.”

Dornan said she has an interested tenant for the first floor of the Morris Center and is actively seeking a tenant for the third floor, which she says would serve well as office space.

Wellington Place is equipped with audio and visual equipment, Tiller said, so meetings and other convention events can be held there as well.

Dan Compas, leasing agent with Murney Associates, told SBJ in April that the lease rate for the space was $8 per square foot. The building is owned by the Springfield Landmarks Preservation Trust, which also owns the Gillioz.

Tiller would not disclose an estimated renovation cost for the hall’s interior. The space’s original dark wood floors are being refurbished and contemporary chandeliers are being hung to give the hall a neutral and modern look, he said.

Tiller plans to hire four or five staff members within a year to take on the additional work at his new location. He is accepting applications but will not hire until September.

In addition to corporate events, Dining by Design, opened in 2001, offers services for wedding receptions, private parties and other special occasions for as few as four guests and as many as 1,500.

Tiller said he also will continue to operate out of his East Cherry office because that location makes it easier to hold events outside of Springfield.

This story originally appeared in SBJ’s May 3 free e-news Daily Update. Click here to register.