There’s a new kid on the block in downtown Santa Maria: The 510 Event Center. Though it’s a new business, it occupies a building, built in 1945, with a colorful past. After extensive restoration and redecoration, the 510 Event Center’s transformation into a warm, welcoming venue with mahogany tables and chairs, pale green walls, and a gleaming bar is impressive. The building that once housed the historical Rusconi’s Restaurant, Calamity Jane’s, the Maverick, and others has a new and improved look.
The center, which opened its doors for business on Feb. 20, has something for everyone. It’s a location where people can hold private parties, banquets, meetings, weddings, reunions, fundraisers, and more without needing an outside caterer. It’s also open for lunch every day from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., offering beef, turkey, and ham dips; burgers; soup; sides; and desserts. From 5 to 8 p.m. daily is happy hour, when the lunch menu is served along with a bar menu of appetizers. Everyone is greeted with a handshake and a smile.
On Friday and Saturday nights, the tempo at the event center picks up with the arrival of dancing and live music, featuring local bands. The well-known group Steppin’ Out will be performing on March 9. Saturday evenings will typically highlight Spanish bands for bailar de noche—dance night.
The event center is the brainchild of Santa Maria locals Marty and Marye Mariscal, John and Ernestina Everett, and Peter Lopez. Though none of the partners had any prior restaurant experience, they combined their love of music, Santa Maria, and cooking, and eventually came up with a business plan that made sense.
“My entire family is musical, and my kids play in bands, so we know a lot of people in Santa Maria who play music, and we want to give them a place to perform,” said Marty, who also plays the guitar during happy hour. “And I have been cooking Santa Maria-style barbecue since I was 18, and both John and I have cooked for hundreds through the Kiwanis Club, so we felt like we could make this concept of banquet hall, music venue, and restaurant work.”
Mariscal hopes the addition of the event center will create a nightlife downtown and help reestablish an identity for the area. Mariscal was on the Santa Maria City Council during the development of the Santa Maria Downtown Specific Plan in 2008, while partner Everett was a member of the Santa Maria Planning Commission, so they’re excited their new business is fulfilling the city’s goals. The plan created a vision and guidelines for future development and beautification in the area that was historically the downtown area.
The structure at 510 S. Broadway was built to replace a restaurant destroyed after a P-38 crashed into the original Rusconi’s Restaurant in 1945 on a training mission. It’s also rumored to be haunted. Old timers stop by to share their memories of prior establishments, but seem glad to be welcomed at the new 510 Event Center. Because now, as in the past, people are seeking a place where they feel comfortable, welcomed, and befriended. Some things never change.
The 510 Event Center is at 510 S. Broadway in Santa Maria. Make reservations at 925-2931
Highlights
• Dr. Robert Ibsen, a local dentist and creator of the non-invasive veneer procedure SmileSimplicity, will showcase the technique during a complimentary webinar for dental professionals and patients on March 21.
The webinar will focus on a skeptical dental professional who received the SmileSimplicity treatment for himself and examined the results he experienced. The treatment, performed by Ibsen at his Santa Maria office, involves placing eight porcelain veneers to whiten teeth and correct structural and esthetic issues, and is usually done in two dental visits without anesthetic shots or drilling into tooth structure.
To register for the free webinar, visit smilesimplicity.com/dental-ce.html.
For more information about SmileSimplicity, visit SmileSimplicity.com, e-mail info@smilesimplicity.com, or call 346-8100.
Biz Spotlight is written by Intern Pamella Wood. Highlights are written and compiled by Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, e-mail, or mail.
This article appears in Mar 8-15, 2012.