– Cast Iron Studios, downtown Bellevue’s newest event and culinary activity space is officially open for business. Located in the heart of downtown Bellevue, Cast Iron Studios will be the private event venue, catering hub, and location for regular food and drink workshops for Heavy Restaurant Group, owners of Purple Café and Wine Bar, Barrio Mexican Kitchen & Bar, and Lot No. 3 Gastropub in Bellevue, Kirkland, Seattle and Woodinville.
Cast Iron Studios was designed to host both intimate and large private events and parties as well as specialty food and wine workshops led by the company’s cast of expert chefs, wine directors and bartenders. The space will also serve as a headquarters for the company’s popular catering services.
“Our vision of a dedicated event and workshop space has come together at just the right time and in just the right place,” said Larry Kurofsky, owner of Heavy Restaurant Group. “We are excited to have the opportunity of sharing our culinary passion with food enthusiasts as well as offer the region’s top businesses a new and exciting space for all levels of events. The space has been designed to comfortably accommodate everything from an intimate private gathering to a large corporate event to our specialty workshops.”
Private Events & Catering
With space for up to 250 guests, Cast Iron Studios allows Heavy Restaurant Group to meet the growing demand for large parties – those that go well beyond capacity at one of their individual restaurants. In fact, Cast Iron Studios, which is connected to both Purple and Lot No. 3 in Bellevue, can expand to include both restaurant spaces and parties of up to 500 people.
The Food
With full access to Purple Café’s sophisticated and fresh Northwest fare and wine, Barrio’s modern Mexican cuisine and cocktails, and Lot No. 3’s menu of gastropub comfort food, craft brews and spirits, events at Cast Iron Studios have one of the widest catering selections available. Expert staff is available to assist in designing the perfect food and drink pairings for all types of events.
In addition to events, Cast Iron Studios is also the company’s home base for their growing pick-up and delivery catering services ranging from reception packages and box lunches to dinner buffets.
Workshops
One of the most anticipated elements of Cast Iron Studios is the series of specialty food events, wine tastings and cocktail classes. These workshops allow Heavy Restaurant Group’s expert staff to share their experience and enthusiasm for all things food and drink from Baking 101 to the basics of mixing classic cocktails.
“We want Cast Iron Studios to be a place where people could come together and learn about the joys of exceptional cuisine and beverages. Our custom workshops, allow us to engage with those passionate about food, wine, beer and spirits in an intimate and interactive fashion,” said Kurofsky.
The current schedule includes seven different workshops in June and July with topics ranging from Pacific Northwest Cuisine taught by Harry Mills, Executive Chef for Heavy Restaurant Group, to A History of Whiskey led by Chris Faber, Bar Manager at Lot No. 3. A schedule and description of upcoming Cast Iron Studio workshops can be found online at www.castiron-studios.com/workshops .
Custom workshops can also be created with the help of Heavy Restaurant Group’s team of chefs, wine directors and bartenders to make for a fun and hands-on learning experience with friends and family or as a great team building activity for local businesses of all sizes.
Cast Iron Studios is now open at 10650 NE 4th St. adjacent to Purple Café and Lot No. 3 in Bellevue. Those interested in learning more about Cast Iron Studios can visit: www.castiron-studios.com. Private tours of Cast Iron Studio’s event space can be arranged by contacting David Yusen at davidy@heavyrestaurantgroup.com.
About Heavy Restaurant Group
Heavy Restaurant Group began in 2001, when Larry and Tabitha Kurofsky opened the first Purple Cafe and Wine Bar in Woodinville with the goal of providing an experience that delivered “approachable expertise”. Purple paired a global wine selection with Northwest cuisine made from local seasonal ingredients—all in an informal atmosphere. All menu items were designed to be enhanced by wine pairings and vice versa. The idea took off, and in 2003, a second Purple Cafe and Wine Bar opened in Kirkland. In 2006, Purple opened in downtown Seattle, followed in 2009 by a fourth location in downtown Bellevue. In 2008, the company continued to build on its experience pairing food and drinks with the creation of Barrio in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, a restaurant that combines Mexican cuisine with innovative craft cocktails in an energetic urban space. In 2010 the company introduced downtown Bellevue’s Lot No. 3, a restaurant and bar that combines comfort food, classic cocktails, and craft brews in a vintage industrial setting. And in May 2012, Heavy Restaurant Group unveiled Cast Iron Studios, an event venue and Heavy Restaurant Group’s catering hub featuring a schedule of regular special food and drink workshops.