Show Your Love On Valentine’s Day At The Chesapeake Conference Center

By Rosaland Tyler

Associate Editor

New Journal and Guide

CHESAPEAKE

Grab your sweetheart by the hand and head to the lavish Valentine’s Day buffet at the Chesapeake Conference Center on Tuesday, Feb. 14, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The love-day feast at the Chesapeake Conference Center includes a lavish buffet, live entertainment, dancing, and two  glasses of champagne for $75 a couple. So far, at least three dozen people have signed up. The menu includes roasted top round beef, chicken francaise in lemon butter sauce, crab cakes, assorted vegetables and several special desserts. A Touch of Spice will perform love songs. A touring photographer will be on hand.

“The idea for a Valentine’s Day event came from my background,” said Tim Fields, director of sales and marketing at the Chesapeake Conference Center. “I thought it would work because it has worked elsewhere,” he said, explaining how a Mother’s Day brunch attracted 1,000 people. A Thanksgiving dinner attracted 475 people.

“You do not have to make reservations at the conference center,” said Fields who has worked in the hospitality industry in several states for more than two decades. “The Valentine’s Day affair is appealing because your table is ready when you arrive. We are large enough to accommodate a few people or large parties at tables.

“We do it all,” said Fields, who launched his career at the Marriott Hotels in New Jersey. He has moved up to increasingly responsible positions in other states including Orangeburg, South Carolina, where he met his wife, Veronica, a graduate student. “Getting into the hospitality industry is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.

“People should come to the Valentine’s Day event because we have a full buffet,” Fields continued. “We won the Taste of Chesapeake award. People should come because they will receive great service and enjoy great food. The gratuity and two free glasses of champagne are included. There’s no wait and no tax. It’s a huge menu.”

Fields said the tables were packed on Mother’s Day. “It was incredible,” he said. “We had mothers from all walks of life. We had two huge buffets. We gave a rose to each mother. People walked in and everything was ready.

“When Mother’s Day ended people asked if I planned to do the same thing on Father’s Day,” he said. “At this point, we are planning an Easter buffet. Parking is free at all of our events.”