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My husband and I are looking to open an event site business in the Ithaca area. We are currently looking for a property with barns, so that we can host events such as weddings and other catered events. In your opinion, is there room in the market for this in the Ithaca area? I am from Skaneateles, and it just seems to me (as a very recent bride looking for "rustic" event venues) that the market is underserved.
Hmm. I got married locally but don't have any sense of the market for this kind of thing (we had no money and our wedding was a lesson in calling in every favor that two just-out-of-college-kids have coming to them). The main thing I'd think about is how your venue would stand out from these pre-existing venues which provide rustic and/or natural beauty: The Carriage House, the state parks, a winery, the Taughannock Inn, and slightly farther afield, the MV Columbia. I've heard about weddings in all those places and they seem to be a known quantity. Honestly eating and partying in a barn sounds kind of gross to me but clearly I'm not who you'd be marketing to.
Is the market underserved in the Skaneateles and nearby areas in the Finger Lakes? I know that Geneva has some nice venues. So, it may depend on where in the Finger Lakes Region you are in.
Ithaca can be a bit navel gazing, it's not likely most folks would go to Geneva for an event. As society evolves it seems church halls and social and fire halls might become less accessible to marrying folks. Maybe some fraction of folks would like a party barn, it seems frequently forgotten even locally that many Cornellians come to the land grant university with an agricultural or country-ish background.
There is a large barn that was restored maybe 20 years ago along NY 13 between Newfield and Alpine Junction (still Town of Newfield) marked "1883" - but it never seemed to find a use, and I think it had a for sale sign on it recently. I suspect the barn might have not much land associated with it anymore (for parking, septic system, etc.) so there could be challenges converting it to an event venue.
Ithaca can be a bit navel gazing, it's not likely most folks would go to Geneva for an event. As society evolves it seems church halls and social and fire halls might become less accessible to marrying folks. Maybe some fraction of folks would like a party barn, it seems frequently forgotten even locally that many Cornellians come to the land grant university with an agricultural or country-ish background.
I agree with the above statement. If you price it well and offer the right blend of partnerships with vendors and flexibility to do your own stuff, there's probably a market.
Also, I have no idea how many Cornellians come back for weddings, but you have to consider the huge contingent of them who come from downstate, where this sort of venue is in demand.
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