What was once a downtown warehouse may soon become one of Pensacola's hottest event venues

Culinary Productions has been a trusted Gulf Coast favorite for catering special events since owner Mike DeSorbo started the company in 2004.

Bringing over 25 years of culinary experience to the table, DeSorbo is now transforming an old downtown Pensacola warehouse on 201 E. Wright St. into a premier event space in hopes of expanding his company’s footprint and expanding the entertainment scene off Palafox Street.

The prime piece of real-estate formerly housed multi-million-dollar food subscription service, SnackCrate, before they expanded to a larger location.

The new event venue, neighboring The Handlebar and Gaby’s Taqueria, welcomes guests to the other side of the tracks while still being within walking distance of bustling Palafox Street.

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As he soon as he laid eyes on the new space, DeSorbo immediately recognized the potential for it to host a diverse-range of entertainment events close to downtown.

“We really wanted something that was more than just 100 people, we wanted to fit a couple hundred people in here because that’s really big for downtown,” DeSorbo said. “Right off Palafox is easy if we’re doing the event here, and they want to get out and about downtown, they’re right there.”

The white-washed brick building will welcome guests with a pristine white ballroom-style main room with glass windows overlooking the city, providing a gathering place for several hundred guests starting this November. However, there is still creative freedom for its occupants to decorate the space to their liking, whether it be for a wedding, corporate event or family get-together.

Prior to having a venue of his own, DeSorbo ran everything out of his 700 W. Main St. location where his team would load-up their vehicles with supplies, sometimes with everything including the kitchen sink, to take to the next catering venue. He will still be keeping the location with the expansion.

Now, the new space provides Pensacola with a one-stop shop for events, with a kitchen area, dressing room and dining space and gourmet food that can be customized to the person and occasion.

DeSorbo said some of his most-requested catering items tend to be those with Southern influence, like the shrimp and grits, grouper, or chicken and waffle hors d’oeuvres.

Anything bacon-wrapped, such as the bacon-wrapped scallops, tends to be a hit. Any special requests, such as a family recipe or sentimental item, are always encouraged to be worked into the menu.

Even though he didn’t quite realize all that was ahead of him when he started the catering company, he enjoys being part of people’s special memories.

“I picked up a local catering job and just fell in love with and just kind of kept going with it,” DeSorbo said. “For some silly reason I said I’m going to do this on my own, and that was 2004.”

For more information, visit the Culinary Productions website.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Downtown Pensacola SnackCrate building to become Culinary Productions