As we arrived to The Medallion Center, we were greeted by Director of Sales Dorothy Team and her staff (who, as a side note, were extremely welcoming!). The Medallion Center is Columbia’s newest full-service contemporary conference and banquet facility and home of Tronco’s Special Events. Tronco’s Special Events has been serving the Columbia area for more than 17 years!
The Medallion Center is a wonderful new facility for the Columbia area, conveniently located in the middle of a vibrant hotel district in Southeast Columbia. There are literally half a dozen or so hotels either connected by parking lot or within a few blocks of the facility. The building hosts weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners, holiday parties, fundraising galas, business meetings, trade shows, conferences, and the list continues. There is 41,000 square feet of meeting space with flexible configurations, five function rooms, a formal ballroom, and three executive board rooms. The Medallion Center offers dedicated event designers, WiFi throughout the facility, full audiovisual technology, and exceptional menus crafted by Tronco’s award-winning culinary team (just to name a few on the long list).
My fellow co-workers, Mandi Engram, Sarah Katherine Shearin, Kim Jamieson, and Joey Mouton chose the perfect table to sit at for lunch. We had the opportunity to sit with John Chiles, General Manager of The Medallion Center, David Martin, the president and CEO of Tronco’s, and Dorothy. All throughout lunch, we talked about the “old way” of doing business throughout the business office (we have had our share of technical difficulties forcing us to depend on the pen and paper a little more than usual). At each table setting there was a South Carolina lottery ticket for the guests to explore their luck. I am pleased to say that Mandi and I each won a few dollars! Jackpot!
After our chat about business before the internet and post-its, John let us in on the family history behind the Tronco’s business. His grandmother started a small fruit store on Blanding Street near an old bus station. With a large number of hungry Italian-American soldiers coming into Columbia for training at Camp Jackson (now Fort Jackson) smelling the homemade spaghetti his grandmother cooked in the back room of the store where her family lived, the store slowly transitioned into an Italian restaurant. After many years of serving the public, the restaurant that started out as Mrs. Martin’s small fruit stand still serves as Villa Tronco on Blanding Street to this day.
The food Tronco’s served was simply delicious! Mini tomato pie tartlets and pimento cheese on benne wafers were served as hors d’oeuvres while guests continued to come in. When everyone arrived, a Greek salad was served. The main course was presented beautifully and tasted just the same. The sliced beef tenderloin with a demi glaze and grilled sea bass with a lemon butter sauce served on toast points was complimented with blanched asparagus and herb roasted potatoes.
After eating the unbelievable red velvet cake for dessert, David and John gave us the heads up to look out for a new Tronco family restaurant to open, Smoked Bar-B-Que. It’s set to open in the coming weeks and is a Southern Style barbeque restaurant located in Blythewood. John made it known that “everyone in the room was overdressed for dining at Smoke.” Smoke is a feel-good, laid-back, relaxing atmosphere where anyone would love to eat some good Southern BBQ. I am looking forward to taking my friends and family to Smoked Bar-B-Que for some delicious barbeque!
I look forward to keeping everyone updated on my future experiences here with the Midlands Authority and the fun things I’ll get to “test out” for you!
Read all about the history of the Tronco family in The State.
Keep up with Tronco's Special Events and Catering on Facebook, and "like" Villa Tronco's Italian Restaurant.
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