:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/24ETJ6NLAREJ67UT54WQECCMSI.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/6PKTPX4SIOJWV4CPDJHC2IVU7Q.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/D34WKSD2Y75LCPAIAT3SFEWKVQ.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/S7CERHDQWHZZKNGAT6KJI2DY7E.jpg)
DIXON – The Brandywine Banquet and Event Center is under new ownership, with the goal of becoming the area's top venue for hosting larger events.
Matt Prescott, owner of the Candlelight Inn restaurants, and business partner Tim Kendrick recently bought the 42-year-old restaurant and banquet hall at 441 state Route 2 and started remodeling earlier this month.
"It's one of the most iconic properties in our area," Prescott said Wednesday. "You can't build a property like that anymore."
The remodel is likely to be complete in the next 2 months and includes work on the walls and flooring as well as a variety of upgrades to the bar, sinks, signage, kitchen equipment and menus.
Business shouldn't be disrupted during the work, and the facility will have its first event under new ownership Saturday – Dixon High School's prom.
The acquisition allows the partners to cater to larger groups and events of up to 800 people, about eight times the number they could accommodate at Candlelight, Prescott said.
"It allows us to handle larger groups, and we didn't have that opportunity before."
Wedding receptions, banquets, business seminars and other events can be booked from 6 a.m. to 1 a..m. 7 days a week, and Prescott said they hope to develop the facility into a key venue for the Sauk Valley in the next 3 years.
"We want it to be the premiere place, and build it up to the place people think of first," he said.
Former owners Ken and Katie Hauck, who have moved out of state, sold the Brandywine for $230,000, according to county property records.
The purchase is the latest in a growing business portfolio for Prescott and Kendrick, who also own Long Shot Sports Bar and Grill in Rock Falls, the Corner Tap in Rock Falls, all three Candlelight Inn restaurants in Sterling, Rock Falls, and Clinton, Iowa, and Sauk Valley Plumbing.
Matt and his brother, Bobby Prescott, also own and operate The Chicken Run, a mostly take-out and delivery restaurant and a spin-off of the Candlelight Inn chain, which opened Dec. 19 in the Madison, Wisconsin suburb of Middleton.
MORE INFORMATION
Call 815-284-8484 or find the Brandywine Banquet and Event Center on Facebook for more information.