TWIS Asks: Jennifer Matteo, of The Devyn

A few days before The Devyn's grand opening, event manager Jennifer Matteo is feeling the crunch. For the last few months, she and owner Carl Wise have been working around the clock to get Sarasota's newest event venue ready for business. Now, with just two days remaining until doors open, she says she's excited to unveil the new space.

Located at 7111 South Tamiami Trail, in the former Livingston's Billiards building, The Devyn is a $4 million, 18,000 square-foot complex with four internal event spaces and an outdoor patio, each tailored to accommodate different sizes and types of events. For longtime residents, the location is a familiar one, but with nearly $1 million in renovations and remodels, Matteo says the building might as well be brand new.

"We gutted it," she says. "Everything is new. Everything."

On the list of updates are new ceilings, French doors, polished concrete and hardwood flooring, exposed brick and event smart-technology operated amenities in some of the rooms. With their combined years of experience and expertise in the events and floral business, Wise and Matteo say they'll help fill a void in the existing local venue scene not just with their hand-picked features, but also with the flexibility they'll be able to offer their clients. 

She took a few minutes to chat with us about the venue and how she sees it fitting in in Sarasota.

Tell me about The Devyn; how did this all come about?

The owner, Carl Wise, has had this idea for quite some time. He's been looking for an appropriate venue for a few years now. In May of this year, he found this building and purchased it.

What made the location so attractive?

We liked that it was in close proximity to Siesta Key and that it was centrally located. It's in the old Sam Seltzer’s and Livingston’s building, which most people know, but we've done a lot of renovations and remodeling. It's a completely different building now. 

How did you get involved?

I've been working as the event manager for All Event Rental and Design and Bee Ridge Florist, which Wise owns, and he asked me If I wanted to come on board. I've been event planning for 12 years, and when the opportunity arose, I took it.

How do you plan to make The Devyn stand out as a venue in Sarasota?

We've already gotten a really good response from other companies, and just by word of mouth. We also made sure to have a web presence from really early on. We had a high-functioning website from the get-go. As far as the venue itself, it's a very transformable space, and everything is very flexible. We have a lot of different catering options, including Morton's Gourmet Market, Sixteen 17 Cuisine, Café Gabbiano, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and Roy's. We also offer a lot of different packages and full rental options.

You also have several different rooms for different types of occasions.

We do. We can accommodate anything. We have rooms for 60 people, 600 people or 1,000 people. In total, we have four interior spaces and an outdoor patio. The Carlisle Room accommodates about 240 people, and it's rustic with exposed brick and hardwood floors. The Amanda Room is our formal space with chandeliers, crown molding and hardwood floors, and it accommodates about 160 people. The Alexandra is our ballroom, and it has polished concrete floors, oversized chandelier, crown molding, brick and French doors. The Arvon room has large wood beams, a bar and is great for sit-down dinners or cocktail events. Our Conrad patio will fit about 200 people for cocktails, and it's a lush patio adjacent to the Carlisle room.

It sounds like there's a lot of versatility.

There really is a room for everyone. We're open to corporate events, private events, nonprofits, birthdays, weddings — anything. I think that's part of what makes us unique. Being in this line of business, we know the pros and cons of any given event venue, and we want to combine all the best components into one with the Devyn. I think we'll set ourselves apart with our flexibility in what we're able to offer. Everyone is looking for a space to make their own, and they can find that here.