Stunning Rooftop and an ideal downtown location for Corporate Events!
The Milwaukee Athletic Club was started by a group of people that got together as a club and built the beautiful downtown building in 1917 from the ground up. The original purpose was for house club functions – like social gatherings, athletic events, and a hotel space and it stayed that way until they went public for events in 2010.
Recognized as one of the best city clubs in the nation, the Milwaukee Athletic Club is a multiple Five-Star Platinum Award recipient. Members of the MAC enjoy not only the benefits of a gracious clubhouse in the heart of Wisconsin’s largest city but also a modern facility fully equipped with surroundings conducive to business, social engagements, and events.
The Interview
Meet the Milwaukee Athletic Club Event Professionals!
Marie Johnson – Wedding and Events Manager, Nadia Olker – Director of Sales and Marketing, and Deanna O’Loughlin – Sales Coordinator
NADIA
What’s your adult beverage of choice?: I’m a classic Cosmo girl
What’s your junk food of choice: Cupcakes
What’s your favorite animal?:Dogs
What music makes up your favorite playlist? OR the best concert you’ve ever been to?: It’s an impossible questions for me. I’m a huge music person. I went to 2 concerts just last night. I go to live music all the time. I like weird obscure music that nobody knows. Right now, I’m listening to a lot of indy-alternative-folk. I go through phases.
Tell me about your family & friends – what do you like to do together?: Definitely music first for me. Any live music, [we like] to go see. And I have a really big family, so I spend a lot of time with them too.
MARIE
What’s your adult beverage of choice?: Amaretto Sours
What’s your junk food of choice/guilty pleasure?: We are pretty into junk food here. We share a snack cabinet.
What’s your favorite animal?:Baby rabbits
What is the best concert you’ve ever been to?: I just saw Janelle Monae. It was amazing!
Tell me about your family & friends – what do you like to do together?: I’m such a TV watcher. I know I should be embarrassed, but I’m not. I also spend a lot of time with my family at the pool during the summer. We also are going to a lot of concerts.
DEANNA
What’s your adult beverage of choice?: Moscato
What’s your junk food of choice/guilty pleasure?: Ghirardelli caramel filled Chocolate Squares
What’s your favorite animal?: Panther
What is the best concert you’ve ever been to?: The Beach Boys, I’ve been 2 or 3 times at their concert with my dad, he loves them.
Tell me about your family & friends – what do you like to do together?: I like to travel. Last year, I took my dad on a cruise for his Christmas present. We went to the Bahamas. That was his dream – to go on a cruise. I also like to relax at home after a big event.
A view from the MAC rooftop
What types of corporate events you host?
Really everything. We are actually are just coming off the six day conference from last week, all the way down to your standard small luncheons. We do a lot of speaking presentations, town hall meetings, annual financial updates, really the whole spectrum. Even some smaller ones, private business meetings. On the 8th floor, we have meeting rooms for 8-10 people.
Do you have any special corporate packages?
Yes, we do. It depends on the group size, what they are looking for and day of the week, though.
What’s your favorite dish on the menu?
We love our food. Our chef is honestly incredible here. I’ve done a lot of events in Milwaukee and this is honestly the best banquet food I’ve ever experienced, it’s really amazing.
Nadia: I would probably go with the fillet. It’s always cooked perfectly here. You don’t even need a steak knife.
Marie: I’m always so impressed with the food we have here. The presentation of it – it’s very approachable for people but at the same time, there is always something a little extra in there that keeps it from being super basic or bland. Our beef short ribs are very good. It’s got really great cranberry sprouts and sweet potato, always so satisfying and cooked perfectly.
Deanna: I think that goat cheese gnocchi is really good and presented very well. We have 5 or 6 vegetarian options.
What do corporate clients forget to ask, but should?
Parking always the biggest one. We have a parking structure right next to the building. So I’d say proximity is the biggest thing people forget to ask about. I think a lot of times, corporate groups are focused on the bottom line. Our menu pricing here is so phenomenal, it’s really competitive. Beyond that, we are at the epicenter of everything going on downtown. Sometimes corporate groups forget that their attendees can literally walk out the door and go everywhere they want – the lakefront, The Public Market, and a lot of other great restaurants and clubs nearby. Sometimes corporate clients can be really focused on what they are hosting, rather than the experience of their attendee. With us being a part of downtown here, you have so many opportunities for the attendees!
What services are available in-house?
All food and beverage is in-house. We also have day-of coordinators on staff. The event manager is basically walking couples through complementary menu tasting, all the way up the day of the event and present the whole time, assisting with the set-up and breakdown. We also have hotel rooms on- site and we offer shuttle services.
Fabulous features of The Milwaukee Athletic Club
A lot of people are really surprised that we have hotel rooms on-site. And I would say that there is so much event space here. We include a separate room for a cocktail hour inside, and then guests move into the ballroom for dinner, so they get to experience a lot of different parts of the club. People can have a varied event all on site. People can have that much versatility within the building. Each one of the spaces here has its own historical context. You walk into one room and it feels completely different from another.
Do you do corporate event planning if a client doesn’t have an event planner on staff? Or do you suggest hiring a local planner?
Yes, we do offer event planning services.
The Beauty
When discussing why we love photographing at the Milwaukee Athletic Club, our photographers were super enthusiastic. The view from the rooftop was a main draw – its light and dramatic city vantage points are unlike any other venue in Milwaukee. The location alone is amazing – you can wander around the Brew City’s downtown for a variety of photo locations all nearby. But inside, the ballroom casts a soft, warm light from their huge chandeliers and frescoes for an old world, nostalgic touch.
Learn More!
Read more about a Milwaukee Athletic Club event here!
Contact Nadia Olker: nolker@macwi.org or 414-274-0633
Follow them on social media!
You can always contact the Front Room Studios team to learn more about events at the Milwaukee Athletic Club or our events photography and events videography.
Call us (414) 294 – 0080
Email us at info@frphoto.com