The Venue in Tuscaloosa offers outdoor dining, family-friendly feel

By WVUA 23 News Student Reporter Caleb Aguayo

The cold February weather did not stop a new business from opening outside retail spaces for fun, games, and dining. The Venue features three businesses: an ice cream shop, a pub and a restaurant. It also has an event space for birthday parties or a live band. The Venue’s event liaison, Braxton Orso, said it’s an outdoor space where families and friends can gather and have multiple food options.

“We moved toward outside eating and outside entertainment,” Orso said. “The trend in America is to go be outside with your family and have options for your family.”

WVAU 23 caught John Murphy Cutrell visiting the Venue with his family this week. Cuttrell said they were out running errands and figured they would stop by.

“With the weather being good today we thought we would check it out. We’ll be back for sure,” said Cutrell.

The owner plans to open additional restaurants before The Venue’s ribbon cutting and grand opening March 25.

“That’s going to be really big day for us. We’re going to have a band out here, we’re going to pack the place out and have all of our restaurants operational,” Orso said.

The Venue Tuscaloosa is located at 6052 Watermelon Road, near Sokol Park.