KITCHENER -- A popular Kitchener wedding venue has closed its doors permanently.
The event operations manager of the Hacienda Sarria confirmed the news to CTV Kitchener on Wednesday morning, saying the closure is due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation and continuously changing government restrictions.
Former President Nadine Doyle told CTV Kitchener that the operating company of the venue filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday.
Speculation about the closure began on social media on Tuesday evening, with many future brides-to-be worried about their wedding day, while vendors worried about losing out on a paying gig.
But the company said that anyone who has booked their wedding at the venue will receive a package of information from BDO, who will notify them about next steps for making a claim.
The Hacienda Sarria said it was a very sad day for the venue, and that it had been a pleasure to serve the community.
Officials said a statement would be posted on the company's website on Wednesday.
Candace Rinaldi was supposed to get married next May at the venue. She found out about the closure through social media.
"Pages were disappearing," she said. "We looked up a Facebook page, it was gone. We looked up Instagram, it was gone."
"It's really strange now to not even get an email."
Brides-to-be are left devastated.
"I would just like to know what their plan is, if they're trying to even even pay portions back to people, just what we can expect from here," Rinaldi said.
Hacienda Sarria's president said anyone who booked at the venue will be contacted by BDO, who will guide them through the next steps to make a claim.
"Obviously they have a large chunk of money that we've given them and they've had it for well over a year at this point," Cortney Hanson said.
Hanson said she's spoken to BDO and was warned she probably won't get her deposit back.
"I'm really hoping someone reaches out and contacts us, because I still have not heard anything from the venue," she said.
The upscale venue did more than host weddings and serve food: it also provided a 1.5-acre plot to The Working Centre to use as a community market garden. According to The Working Centre's website, that garden produced more than 20,000 lbs of seasonal produce per year.
Doyle said that the building and land were not affected by the bankruptcy, and thus the market garden will not be affected. Food4KidsWR and Hacienda Sarria's coffee roasting company will also not be affected.
She said that they want to keep supporting their charity partners, something that's always been important to them.
