Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille had such a good time in Dundee, Scotland, that he wanted to return the Lord Provost’s hospitality by hosting an informal get-together at his home.
In keeping with that tradition, Euille hosted his second annual dinner party for Lord Provost John Letford, at Euille’s home on Dec. 3.
“When we were in Dundee in September of 2002, everyone made us feel like family,” Euille said. “I promised then that I would have John to my house any time he came to Alexandria, whether I was the mayor or not,” Euille said.
Last year, Euille hosted a party for Letford and invited more than 75 people. “We wanted to keep it a little less formal this year so we invited about 40 people,” said the mayor.
The party was catered by Joe Theismanns Restaurant on Diagonal Road in Alexandria. Susan Grandgeorge is the owner. She said, “Bill [Euille] has been one of our customers for a long time. He knows what he likes and we always work with him to see that he gets it.”
For last week’s party, Euille chose a menu that was reflective of his tastes. There were bacon-wrapped scallops, shrimp, salmon mousse in pastry shells, potato salad, green beans, turkey and ham.
“That’s exactly why we don’t have set menus for catering,” Grandgeorge said. “Some customers know exactly what they want and some want us to plan the entire event for them. Bill knows what he likes and we like to provide it.”
That is Grandgeorge’s specialty. “We work with every type of taste and every price range,” she said. “We do parties here at the restaurant and off-site.”
FOR THE HOLIDAYS, catering prices range from $7.50 per person for stand-up circulating hors d’ourves to $27.45 per person for a sit-down dinner and everything in between.
“We even have one individual who brings his own caterer and we just provide the room and the bar,” Grandgeorge said. “Catering is all about working with the customer.”
There is still time to plan a holiday event. “For groups of around 40 or 50, we only need about a day’s notice,” Grandgeorge said. “Call us. If we can’t do it at the restaurant, we can do it off-site.”
Theismanns is not alone in providing catering services. Check with your favorite restaurant about what they offer or call Theismanns at 703-739-0777. Happy holidays.