The Rize Event Center joins UNITE HERE Local 74

By SHERI GASSAWAY
Assistant Editor

The Rize Event Center, a new a full-service catering and restaurant facility, has joined UNITE HERE Local 74.

The center is at 4444 Woodson Road in north St. Louis County near St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The restaurant is open two nights a week on Mondays and Wednesdays.

“Our goal is to connect families, people and community at a price they can afford,” said owner Betsey Mitchell. “We decided to open the restaurant two days a week to make ends meet, and it’s been a big hit.”

Mitchell, who’s owned restaurants with her mother in the past, said she was delighted to learn there was a union for hospitality workers in the St. Louis area. She’s a former teacher at St. Louis Public Schools and was a member of AFT Local 420, and her husband was a 25-year member of Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 562.

NO STRANGER TO UNIONS
“I’m not a stranger to unions, and I support them fully,” Mitchell said. “It’s that solidarity… that comradery. I have three part-time employees now, and I’m hoping to be able to make them full-time as the business grows.”   

The restaurant is open on Monday nights from 7 p.m. to midnight for Industry Night, which includes karaoke, food and drinks, and on Wednesday nights for Wind Down Wednesdays, which includes food, drinks and games.

‘WELCOME’
“We’re so happy to have The Rize on board and welcome them to the union,” said Local 74 Secretary-Treasurer Krystal George.

The event center seats up to 150 people and offers catering for up to 450 people at another local venue in north St. Louis County. For more information, visit rizeeventcenter.com.