Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center
The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, in Columbia South Carolina, is a new facility opened in 2004. A facility designed to serve a regional market, it is a total of some 142,000 square feet, with a 25,000 SF exhibit hall and a 17,000 SF ballroom, plus meeting and pre-function space.
As South Carolina’s only downtown convention center, the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center is designed to attract a variety of local and regional organizations and public shows. Foodservice demands for any event cover a wide range. Most public shows require only the concessions to be in operation while multi-day organizational events may require up to three meals a day for the entire congregate body, either as a body or in break-out spaces.
At full capacity, the center can accommodate nearly 2,000 people for each meal. It is also possible to serve larger groups in the exhibit space. Daily meal volumes of 4,000 have been encountered.
Culinary Advisors provided the foodservice facility planning for this project. In this role, we developed the facility plans for the main kitchen, the serving pantries, corridor support spaces, and concessions for the exhibit space.
The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center has been so successful that the design team and the Owner have been discussing an expansion.