Service Systems Associates, caterer extraordinaire at the Los Angeles Zoo and many others, asked us for some Weber Love for several of the Zoos popular restaurants this year.  The LA Zoo is a thriving place and lots of folks enjoy eating authentic Mexican cuisine right on the grounds but the fiesta had gone out of the existing building and surrounding eating area.  Also part of Weber’s scope is the design/build of several large kiosks that have a brand conversation with existing restaurants.  Built in our shop, plumbed, and wired as commercial modular buildings, these new kiosks are sure to move some soft serve but also have the right look that makes them an integral part of the Zoo’s brand story.  Oh and the Betty White part, you ask? Hot thang little Miss Betty White, talk of THE town, hosted a private party at the new Cafe Pico already this summer.

The all new Sting Ray Bay experience at Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ is now open.  Weber was pleased as punch to create the immersive elements of the Caribbean oasis!  Featuring a special touch tank, the exhibit is fun for children of all ages.  What once was a long cafeteria lunch room is now a super high profile fun zone.  Congratulations to the team at Adventure Aquarium and thanks to Herschend Family Entertainment for letting us be part of the build!  Visit their site to see before and after pictures.  Click here.

Put on your best Dallas Cowboys blue and head down to the new Stadium for a treat: the all new Makers Mark Lounge.  Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the bottles of bourbon.  The new lounge features 2 giant Makers Mark bottles resting comfortably on oversized football tees.  For a special seek and find, look throughout the Dallas marketplace for 5 more of these unusual works of art.  It’s a treat to get to make something for a brand from our home state (that’s Kentucky all you basketball fans!) and to make something as tasty as the amber and honey of Makers Mark.  Thank you George Briskie and the team at Beam Global!

Now that

Coming to a city near you! Weber Group! Catch us at the Association of Zoo and Aquaria Show in Houston September 13 to 16 in Booth 107; at the World Waterpark Show in San Antonio October 6 to 10; and at IAAPA in Orlando November 12 to 16 at Booth 463.  Don’t miss Donny Weber and Penny Peavler at the Themed Entertainment Association annual SATE Conference at Universal Studios Orlando on September 30 and October 1.  Donny is taking part in a panel discussion on working with licensed brands that is moderated by our good friend and Nickelodeon Creative Director John Paul Geurts.  His partner in crime is Tina Skees of Herschend Family Entertainment and formerly of Paramount.  Penny is moderating a panel on the future of hosptiality design featuring Fran Boettcher of PBS&J, Dave Eagleson of Forrec, and Jonathan Douglas of VOA.

Announcing our newest in-house service!

Weber Group self performs sculpted and ornamental realistic rockwork with a team of artisans and carvers with over 20 years experience and a worldwide service roster.  The work is long-lasting and green! Offering rockwork, water features, retaining walls, faux trees, earth banks, or sculpture in GFRC, cladding, or hand carved shotcrete our team of craftsmen custom color and detail finishes for any environment:  Zoos, Aquariums, Museums, and Resorts. Aging and natural stone and mineral deposits including flora and fauna are added for authenticity.  Need repairs to existing rockwork? Call us! If your project is stuck between a rock and a hard bottom-line Weber Rock can make a difference!

We are proud to welcome Craig Luby, LEED AP, to the Weber team! Craig is an experienced project manager whose work has spanned everything from Public Buildings to Multi-family & Industrial Facilities Management and is an all around great guy.  His love of exercise and willingness to travel ANYWHERE makes him a natural at Weber Group.  A Lexington native, Craig is a graduate of UK so our friendly rivalry among UK, UL, and IU remains fairly even.  Craig’s latest claim to fame is his upcoming role in the movie Secretariat, filmed in and around Louisville, look for the back of his head in the Chevy Bel Air traveling to the funeral and as a stand in for actor Dylan Walsh. Check out his picture and let us know if you think he looks a little like Walsh aka Dr. Sean McNamara of Nip/Tuck. Clients and friends say salud to Craig!

The Muses, mixed-use development in Central City New Orleans, and the first LEED-certified multi-family development in Louisiana, is rising quickly.  The Muses is a three phase Urban Residential Development in Historic Central City New Orleans which will replace 4.8 acres of vacant land with new construction of 263 apartments, 28 market-rate condos and 4,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space. The project is a partnership of Gulf Coast Housing Partnership (GCHP), a non-profit real estate development company and LDG Development, a Kentucky Corporation.

Beginning Sept. 9, cast your vote for the Weber Gallery for the Ernst & Young LIVE UNITED Social Innovation Project of the Year.  Visit the website to view a video on the gallery featuring Smith Weber

The Weber Gallery is a program of the Council on Mental Retardation and is named in honor of Tom and Donny Weber.  Mark your calendars for Metro United Way’s 2009 Community Campaign Kickoff on September 9th, at 10AM.  Voting will commence then for Social Innovation Project of the year. 

The mission of the Weber Gallery is to provide an outstanding and inclusive art venue for talented local, regional and national artists. A portion of all proceeds from the Weber Gallery go to support the Council on Mental Retardation.

It is the vision of the Weber Gallery to include, empower and value artists with disabilities in the community of

artistic excellence.

Weber Gallery at the Council

1151 South Fourth Street

Louisville KY 40203

502-584-1239

Nourish Cafe at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) opened today.  Operated by Sodexo Leisure Services and designed and built by the Weber Group, Nourish features locally, grown fresh foods served within view of the beautiful circle fountain and Robert Indiana LOVE sculpture for which the IMA is so famous.  It’s a warm, inviting, and relaxing space just beckoning a visitor to linger.  At today’s opening I sampled the roasted heirloom tomato and corn bisque soup and a flanksteak salad.  The argula was perfect and the balsamic dressing really complemented the meal.  The naturally finished cork floor and solid surface countertops add to the museum’s efforts to go green.  The IMA also has launched a new online art video project, Art Babble, that has gone worldwide, showing their status as a leading American Museum.  Click here to visit the IMA website and here to checkout Art Babble.

Waterpark Resorts Today magazine released its annual IT Guide recently spotlighting the top 25 waterpark resorts in the country ranked by size and number of rooms.  Weber Group has worked on 15 of the top 25 resorts or a whopping 60%! We are pleased as punch to work for some of the best clients in the industry like Great Wolf Lodge, Coco Key Resorts, and Zehnder’s Splash Village.

Click here to access Waterpark Resorts Today online and see the entire list!