Event Venues in Austin

Submitted by matt on Tue, 09/30/2008 - 7:42pm.
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Reasoning

Given that a variety of organizations in Austin hold face-to-face events, be they large-scale networking events or small user group meet-ups, it makes sense to dump information about what is available so others need not start from square one. Any first-hand experience comments are welcome, as that lends credence to the listing.

Venues

Here is a list of venues, in no particular order.

Monarch Events Center

http://www.monarcheventcenter.com/
door64 used this for the August 7th, 2008 High-Tech Career Fair and Networking Night. Used the largest space for the career fair, and the bar area for spill-over and networking. Staff were good to work with, and the venue was all setup when arrived. Only issue was the A/C was working overtime to cool the auditorium when filled; was a bit stuffy, and fans had to be brought in to help with that. Central location in Austin (near St. John's off I-35) is good. Decent parking.

St. Edward's University Professional Education Center (PEC)

http://www.seupec.com
The PEC, conveniently located at 360/183 has meeting rooms available for daytime rental that will host 18-120 people. Great for corporate offsites, lunch meetings and organization events. We have ample free parking. We have on-site catering service: absolutely no lunch meats or processed foods are used in the preparation of any of our gourmet sandwiches or salads. They select only the freshest beef, pork, poultry, fish and produce available and make everything to order. I haven't had anything on their menu I didn't love!
Contact: Teri Turner: terit@seupec.com

Triumph Cafe

http://www.triumphcafe.com/
They have a very nice patio in the back - great for outdoor events that number ~150 or so. GeekAustin and door64 have held events there in the past. You'll probably need to order catering from them to reserve the patio, but their prices are very reasonable (see below).

Austin Public Libraries

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/meeting.htm
They are all over Austin, free to reserve, and may work well for relatively small groups. They have some restrictions, but still it's a very viable option.

Catering

Here is a list of restaurants or caterers, generally useful for those organizing networking events. Personal experience is a plus here.

Triumph Cafe

http://www.triumphcafe.com/
They do an excellent job of providing egg rolls, spring rolls, and other Asian-style hor dourvres at door64 and GeekAustin events. I (Matt G) have used them at many door64 networking happy hours, and their egg rolls + spring rolls have always been a hit. Their prices are very reasonable, and they deliver. Highly recommended.