Hofheimer Building — Attraction in Richmond

My cousin and I recently hosted her parents' 50th anniversary party at The Hofheimer Building on July 26, 2025, and unfortunately, our experience was incredibly disappointing from start to finish. I want to share the details so others can make an informed decision.

The initial event coordinator was helpful, but she left before we signed the contract. Our new representative proved to be disorganized and unresponsive. She double-booked our tour with another couple, and during the tour, she left the other couple at the bar while taking us around. Throughout the planning, responses were so slow that I eventually had to call the restaurant to prompt a callback.

Approximately two weeks before the event, with setup details still unclear, we were informed there would be only one hour of free setup time, with additional hours costing $100 each. It was at this point that I notified them that I was a corporate event manager and I've never encountered such a policy before. After pushback, they grudgingly offered an additional hour for free, but then, surprisingly, two days before the event, told us we could come in at 9 AM.

On the day of the event, we arrived at 9 AM to a locked service door and waited 10 minutes for someone to appear in Harry's to assist us. Upon entering, the elevator floor was sticky with a puddle of something in the back. When I pointed this out to the event coordinator (who was dressed unprofessionally in a t-shirt, baseball cap, and jean shorts), her response was a dismissive, "We will get to it." While they eventually mopped, they left standing water in the elevator and failed to put up a wet floor sign in the freshly mopped hall.

We were horrified to discover that the "natural wood tables" in the Loft, which had been a major selling point, were now painted black without any prior notification. This completely ruined our navy and wildflower aesthetic, making it look like we had black runners on black tables. When questioned, we were told it was for "wood protection."

Throughout setup, no venue staff offered assistance. Six women were left to move heavy farm tables and chairs by ourselves to arrange the room. The event coordinator vanished after stating she had another event on the roof. I later saw her in the hall and specifically asked for help with the tables, but no one came. The Loft floors and tables were also sticky. When the tables were mentioned to the coordinator, here unhelpful response was "I noticed that." We then had to ask if they would clean them or us. At which point she provided cleaner for us to do the work. To add insult to injury, the coordinator brought another prospective client into the room to tour while we were actively setting up, without asking permission or offering any apology for the intrusion.

The skylight tarps, which we had agreed to keep on, were removed almost immediately after our agreement, requiring us to track someone down to replace them.

Food and beverage service was also a significant challenge. Despite requesting a self-serve bar for drinks, they kept a cash bar up. The buffet constantly ran out of food, requiring me to repeatedly prompt the bar staff to replenish it. They offered no assistance with clearing plates from tables or cutting the cake.

Finally, they offered to extend our event time by two hours but then required us to be out at exactly 6 PM because they needed to set up for their own dance party. It was infuriating to witness their urgency for their own event setup while providing zero help for a paying anniversary party.

The Hofheimer Building's location is poor, with extremely limited parking requiring a significant walk from off-site lots. The staff is unprofessional and unhelpful. This is NOT a full-service venue as they market themselves. You are essentially renting a room and can get catering from Harry's, but expect absolutely no assistance or professionalism. Do not book them expecting a seamless event experience. This venue is, at best, a bar with an event...

We had our wedding at the Hof recently and it was absolute perfection.

From the start, the manager was easy to talk to and quick to respond to my queries-- that's no small feat, as I'm a bit high-strung. On the day of, all of the staff was super friendly, efficient, and accommodating; even to my special requests that created more work for them.

The catering team was also great to work with. My now-husband and I are very nit-picky about food, and had a specific idea of the kind of meal we wanted. The chef delivered the exact dishes we requested, along with some creative surprises that left our bellies happy. We were particularly pleased with the vegetarian offerings, as my mom is veg and I really wanted her to have an awesome selection. It was really reasonably priced, too.

The space itself is great. We used the back room for a pre-wedding family party, the rooftop for our ceremony, and the loft for our reception. All three were great. We wanted an "understated elegance" aesthetic (my florist's words, not mine) and the space required minimal decor to achieve that. The rooftop has an extended gazebo that provides some shade for guests, which my grandparents definitely appreciated. We made our own arch and provided a small amount of greenery, and that was all the decor necessary to make it look festive. The loft is great too, the wall of windows provided all the "mood lighting" we needed and the staircase made for a lot of dramatic photo-ops. I was concerned that guests might get confused walking between floors, but there was ample signage and noone got lost :-)

Overall we had a great experience, I can't think of a single thing that could have...

We recently staged a production of Hamlet at the Hof in their Loft space and I could not be any happier with our experience. The space, their staff, everything was amazing. I believe that our production was the first piece of theatre that has been staged in the space but you wouldn't know it from the way they anticipated all our unique needs. The level of professionalism and preparation throughout was so impressive. They thought of everything, including a dozen things we hadn't even considered ourselves. Everyone was so helpful and so flexible with all our last-minute minutiae. Bobby and Gaby were prompt with all our communications and excited about helping us put on our show; Leigh was so welcoming and accommodating with helping us get set up when we arrived; the bartender Daniel was so kind and helped us out with a fun audience-participation moment in our show. I cannot recommend this space highly enough for any and all kinds of events. Prior to staging our show there, I have been to lots of various events here, from classical music concerts, to storytelling events, to fashion shows, and they were always wonderful, which is why I chose to host my own...