‘A Dream Come True’

Venue 812 fulfills restaurant couple’s longtime wishes

By Michelle Mastro

Venue 812, a new event space in the former location of Western Ribeye steakhouse at 1401 N. Boeke Road, fulfills the culinary dreams of owners Ellada and Doros Hadjisavva.

“We have been catering since 2008,” says Ellada. “Catering grew from one event a month to multiple events per week.”

The couple owned the Greek restaurant Acropolis from 2000 to 2021 and opened the restaurant Riverwalk at 6 Walnut St. last year. Still, they always desired their own venue to host events and meet the growing demand for their popular catering services, called Acropolis Catering.

“We have become exclusive caterers in several locations around the Tri-State,” Ellada says. “Venue 812 is a dream come true for us.”

This change from restaurant to event venue was part of the couple’s five-year plan, but Ellada says it transitioned from plan to reality in just three years. Having everything in one place was worth the expedited effort.

“Venue 812 is our one-stop shop,” she says. “It is efficient to have all of our catering gadgets in one location and be able to host events of all sizes from 20 guests to 200.”

Even though they have a new venue, the couple wants to keep some things the same.

“We will still be catering anywhere our customers request,” Ellada says. “Evansville needed another option to host events. We believe we are adding a great choice for another events center that can accommodate any celebration.”

Doros and Ellada Hadjisavva have fulfilled a long-held dream to have their own catering and event space with Venue 812, a one-stop shop for any occasion. Photo by Christine Byer.