The Makoy — Attraction in Norwich Township

I attended an 80th-birthday event recently [5-25-2019] at the Makoy Center. Growing up in Upper Arlington not far from McCoy Rd., I have now learned that there is more than one way to spell that word.

The 80th-birthday event had included a networking time [with a cash bar], an absolutely-delicious meal [served buffet-style], a "toast" [with champagne or sparkling grape juice], and then a lengthy speech [so long that it had been broken into two parts divided by an intermission] by the person who had recently turned 80.

When arriving at the Makoy Center, I had entered via the first door that I had seen and found myself unexpectedly in the middle of a very crowded "Hispanic" event with loud music. I eventually found an "Emergency Exit Only" door at the back of that very crowded room and thereby entered a slightly-quieter section of the Makoy Center where I found another event that obviously had been a wedding.

At that point, I looked for and found a Makoy Center employee who directed me to the Mezzanine where the 80th-birthday party was being held. The Mezzanine had been a great location for the 80th-birthday party except that the only bathrooms for that room had been down a flight of steps to the first floor.

As I had previously said, the food had been absolutely delicious [lasagna, chicken, au gratin potatoes, and long green beans]. The staff had efficiently organized the process of everyone getting their food [that had been served buffet style, table by table] in spite of the fact that there had been so many people there.

When the "birthday person" began his speech, he had been surprised and disappointed by the continuous loud music, traveling through the walls [or through the floor] from one of the other events that evening, that had made it far more difficult than he had expected for guests to hear his speech. A recording of his speech had been made for YouTube; I wonder if the background music will be heard in...

The Makoy Center is truly exceptional in every way. From the very beginning of planning to picking up our items the day after our event, everything was amazing. The staff is so accommodating and attentive, you can tell they really care about their guests and providing a phenomenal experience.

We worked with Mikaela during the planning process and she was so great at giving us all the details and options and trying to get us the very best deal possible. She was great at contacting us regularly, especially when we were difficult to get ahold of.

Clay was our event captain for the rehearsal and our actual event. We had our ceremony and reception at Makoy. Clay was a trooper when it came to our thousands of questions throughout the entire event. Clay and his staff were prepared for everything and the entire event ran seamlessly. We opted for casual seating and based on the way people sat, we needed an extra table set up last minute. The Makoy team had this setup within minutes. They did an excellent job setting up our centerpieces and photo booth and we were thankful for their help tearing down at the end of the night. I thought it was such a nice gesture that the staff made a plate for myself and nick from the buffet and carried it to our seats for us.

The food is AMAZING! Chef Aaron really out did himself with our appetizers and dinner. We heard tons of compliments on the baked chicken and au gratin potatoes and requests for the top round at future family functions.

Matt, the bar manager, did an excellent job with communicating with us throughout the night about our bar budget. Once our bridal party came in for the reception, he made sure we always had drinks in our hands. We had drinks delivered to our head table which was much appreciated.

I could go on and on about the special things this group did for us. Nick and I couldn't have asked for...

Truly an amazing venue with amazing staff. Our family lives mostly in northern and southern OH, so Columbus area was the perfect middle ground! We live out of state now, and weddings are stressful enough when you’re in the state you get married in. The Makoy worked with us through every step and we left every meeting feeling like we were stressed over nothing. Not to mention the venue is beautiful and our guests (~160) couldn’t stop complimenting it. Matt was amazing at every step of the way to making sure we were smooth sailing and helping with every idea we had or decided to change. We never felt pressured to spend more and they always helped us stay within the budget. For everything you get, the Makoy was worth every penny. Last but not least the food was amazing. We went for a buffet option and everyone LOVED it (including us!) The staff was also amazing for helping coordinate the multiple different severe and non-severe food allergies we had. I’m sure there’s things I missed as I don’t think I can fit everything I loved about the Makoy in the character limit- but if I had to redo my wedding- the Makoy would be our venue/reception no...