Bob Adolfson, owner of Glover Mansion Events LLC, says he’s shifting the name of the event venue and catering company and has a plan to grow the business after recently selling the company’s namesake historic Glover Mansion he had owned and operated since 2004.

“We’re continuing,” he says of event and catering business operations. “We have two other venues: Chateau Rive at the Flour Mill and Spokane Valley Event Center, both on long-term leases.”

Through a contract with the city of Spokane, the company also is the exclusive caterer for events at three Riverfront Park venues, the Pavilion, Looff Carousel, and Numerica Skate Ribbon.

Going forward, the umbrella organization for the business will be Red Rock Catering & Events, which is based at the Spokane Valley Event Center, at 10514 E. Sprague, in the former University City complex.

The 8,000-square-foot Spokane Valley Event Center, which the company has operated since 2014, also will be rebranded within the next few weeks, he says.

“We haven’t made a decision on the exact brand for Valley center yet, but we’re finishing up that decision.”

Adolfson says remodeling work is underway at the Valley venue to make it more wedding friendly.

“We’re changing the whole look of the place,” he says.

The project is designed to give the center a softer look, and improvements include new lighting package, new painting, audio-visual improvements, and finish work.

Red Rock Catering is acting as its own contractor on the project, and Mint Interiors Studio LLC, of Spokane, designed it.

Adolfson declines to disclose the cost of the project, but says it is being shared between the Red Rock Catering and its landlord, Coeur d'Alene-based University City Inc.

“We’ll be done with that remodel soon,” he says. “The last piece is painting the exterior. It will have to wait for warm, dry weather.”

Improvements also are planned at Chateau Rive, a 5,200-square-foot venue in the historic Flour Mill building at 621 W. Mallon, in Spokane’s North Bank district, where Red Rock Catering also has been providing event services for over a decade.

“We’re in the process of negotiations at the Flour Mill to do (tenant improvements) and extend our lease as well,” he says. “Lights and a new floor are on a list of things that will improve the facility.”

Adolfson says the catering and event operations have an average staffing level of about 30 employees over the course of a year.

“We have seven full-time employees, and the rest are part-time and on-call servers, bartenders, and culinary people,” he adds. “Last year, it got up to about 42 people.”

The first quarter of the year is the slowest season, and business peaks in midsummer, he says. Costs to rent the venues depend highly on the day of the week and the date.

Wedding packages at Chateau Rive start at $7,000, inclusive of rent and food and beverages in the off season, and costs at in peak season rise to $12,000 to $14,000.

Beyond providing the venue and catering services, Red Rock Catering offers event planning and will help set up and operate audio-visual equipment, special lighting, and entertainment equipment.

A growing majority of wedding parties have a ceremony and a reception at the same venue, he says.

“Back in 2004, about two-thirds had ceremonies on site,” he says. “Now, it’s easily 90%.”

He says having the capability to hold indoor/outdoor events is key to that trend, although after October, the Glover Mansion, which had provided indoor/outdoor options, will no longer be part of the business.

Two dozen wedding events already scheduled through October at the mansion won’t be affected by the sale, he says.

“The Chateau has that,” Adolfson says of indoor/outdoor options. “The Valley doesn’t, but it has two rooms for the ceremony and reception.”

The Spokane Valley Event Center can provide banquet seating for 450 people and auditorium-style seating for 600 people.

Chateau Rive has an indoor seating capacity of 200 and outdoor seating for up to 250 people.

While Adolfson expects to attract more weddings at the Spokane Valley center, it has been more active to date in hosting business and corporate events than the other venues.

“At Chateau Rive, weddings are about 60% of the business, and I expect that will stay the same,” he says.

The peak season for weddings runs April through October, and the peak season for corporate events is in the spring and fall.

December, however, is a close rival to peak seasons due to a combination of weddings and holiday events, he says.

Adolfson declines to disclose revenue, but says it’s on the upswing.

“We’ve grown every year since coming out of COVID,” he says. “We’re looking for the year to be up 10% to 15% over 2024. We’re optimistic, especially about growth we’re going to get from the Spokane Valley Event Center.”

Adolfson says it was a bittersweet decision to sell Glover Mansion, after having owned it for more than 20 years.

“The mansion required a lot of attention,” he says. “It was 137 years old, and it took a lot of time, effort, and money. It was becoming increasingly difficult to get enough (business) at the mansion to justify that.”

The Glover Mansion, a nearly 14,000-square-foot, three-story Tudor revival structure at 321 W. Eighth was designed by famed architect Kirtland Cutter and constructed in 1888 for James Glover, who founded the city of Spokane and served as its second mayor.

The sale of the mansion will enable Red Rock Catering to focus more on its core business, Adolfson says.

“We are really excited about our new direction, especially at the Valley, and building that business,” he says. “Once the work is done in both buildings, we will easily make up for the loss of sales at the mansion.”