The Guild Event Venue

The venue is postcard beautiful. It features wooden floors, brick walls and a HUGE chandelier that just screams for a photo op.
Why is The Guild just okay then?
It’s those brick walls. If you get a decent crowd or God forbid, a small band (even an acoustic one from an event I attended) the sound just starts bouncing all over the place making it difficult to hear anybody more than a couple of feet from you. Since most events normally feature music, except for maybe a business presentation or two, those events will have their work cut out for them.

Gorgeous venue and amazing food! I attended a wedding here and was absolutely charmed. As other reviewers have mentioned, the subway tiles, sealed concrete floor, huge chandelier, brick– it’s all gorgeous. The staff was great, and we had the best time. There’s a full kitchen in the other half of the building, as well as restrooms and changing areas so it works well to have a wedding ceremony and reception at the Guild. My friend was able to have a wedding that was just her style, complete with chalkboard menus and a full vegetarian meal that was hearty and delicious. The beautiful courtyard is fenced in, but not in a way that feels confining, with pretty old-​fashioned light bulbs strung across the top. Love!

So absolutely amazing!!! I will be getting married here someday! Well, maybe, but it is definitely on «the list»!

I wish I could have another wedding reception and rent out The Guild, due entirely to that absolutely STUNNING chandelier.
In general, the place is pretty run of the mill for an event space. It has the standard, trendy features that I’m seeing in all «arty» event spaces these days: exposed brick walls, subway tiles, concrete floor and an original beam ceiling. The Guild sets itself apart from the pack by the addition of the amazing chandelier. It’s gigantic and beautiful, and makes me want to sit and stare at it for long periods of time. The ladies’ room is also awfully good looking, with shiny black and white tiles. The floor is especially remarkable.
The staff is very friendly. I was caught off-​guard by the cash-​only bar at the event I attended, but at least they have an ATM on site. It’s a bit difficult to find if you’re just driving down the street, as the building is rather nondescript and the only signage is a stencil on the door. It’s located slightly east of the main Crossroads district, which I believe gives it an advantage; while still being close to the action, it’s far from the parking congestion caused by First Fridays.

I’ve been to 2 events here and this space is really just excellent. Large, open indoor areas, nice restrooms, and a spacious outdoor area. It’s beautifully decorated, I could imagine holding a wedding or large party here easily.

I came to this location for a Unilocal event last month. I brought a friend who had recently been married and she was marveling at the location. It is so urban yet chic. The rough wood and brick give an urban feel and the chandelier in the middle of the large open area adds a touch of elegance. The various rooms give all kinds of options for seating or food service. The open, outdoors area in the back practically double the space. The built in bar was nice, also. I could see a wedding in the back and the reception inside. Corporate functions, Food/​drink tasting functions — all kinds of things.
The parking is adequate, especially for an urban area. There are a couple of lots close by and we found a place on the street which was very close.
The area seemed safe to me. If you had an event here, there would be lots of people around, so not a big deal. I’m a suburbanite, and I wasn’t worried, so get over it, people. I believe they hire security guards to patrol the area when they have events, anyway.
I don’t know what the pricing is for this place, but I would recommend it based on my experience.

This is my second Unilocal event and so far, my favorite. The event space is gorgeous. HUGE chandelier and multiple rooms to have anything you can imagine. I loved the photo bus, so clever. The food vendors were fantastic as well as the beer and drinks. It seems this event was more social, so I got to meet a lot of other Unilocalers, which was great.
The vendors were amazing, actually wish there were a little more, but the Tudor Woodwork place was AWESOME.
Great job Matt! Can’t wait til the next one!

Wonderful event space! It has indoor and out door areas, which was great. I will recommend this venue to anyone that needs a space for an event!
The space is beautiful and I loved the brick walls and the exposed beams.

It looks like the other reviews have the aesthetics of the space covered, I’d like to focus my review on the business side of The Guild:
I’ve dealt with a number of event spaces in Kansas City, and from start to finish, working with The Guild was a pleasure. During my initial walk-​through, I was spit-​balling ideas of how to creatively use the space, and they were excited about every random idea I could come up with, even offering up suggestions on how to make it stand out even more! «Anything is possible, so long as we have time to plan» was the response of one of the owners. I like that attitude.
The contract process is quick, easy and straightforward. No hidden clauses or lawyer-​speak. They are able to provide a number of services if necessary, from security to tables and linens. But on the flip-​side, they don’t lock you into «preferred caterers» and all that other BS. They want to help you throw a great event, not help scratch the back of their pre-​selected business partners. Again, anything is possible.
Having the built in bar makes drink service so much easier, with convenient taps and soda guns. There’s an ice machine, something you may not find in more raw spaces. It’s great to not have to spend the day of your event trying to figure out how to keep delivered ice frozen. They also gave me huge windows for clean up and break down, another stress reliever.
If a gun was held to my head and to pick something about which to complain, I’d have to say parking. Now, don’t get me wrong, it exists! They have access to two neighboring lots, and there is incredibly ample street parking. But it seems that some people have it hard-​wired into their brains that if it doesn’t look like the lot at Wal-​Mart, there’s no available parking. And unfortunately, when some of these people are going to be your guests, you hear about it. A great big dedicated lot would have made that one less headache. However, for most people this won’t be an issue.
So check out the other reviews that discuss the (glorious) aesthetics and if that type of space sounds to your liking then I would say book at The Guild, no hesitation!

Very attractive venue with airy open spaces. The outdoor space in the back was a definite bonus. I’d gladly attend events here or plan one here if I needed a nice venue.

Wow.
Just «wow».
I hadn’t heard of this venue until I attended the Unilocal Holiday Winter Party this past Thursday. The event space is beautiful, with rich exposed beams, brick walls and a breathtaking chandelier in front of the bar. Breezy and open with huge double doors that lead to a back area where trucks can access the space or to use as an area for any attending smokers. The only downside to my trip here was that I didn’t have the chance to check out the restrooms. I would definitely put this space on list for any major event or a future wedding!

How, and why, the eff did I not get married here!!! I would have pushed the date back a whole year for this space! It has everything ANYONE would want in a venue. Cool location, huge industrial windows, exposed brick, great LARGE bathrooms, an outdoor area, a grassy outdoor area, and, of course, the ridiculously enourmous beautiful chandelier. What a perfect touch, takes the space from urban industrial to classically beautiful.
It’s the perfect one stop shop! After seeing the owners at the event I went to I realized that building had no choice but to be pretty, they know what they’re doing. The wood work in the outdoor area and the office area is perfect, clean lines very modern.
I will recommend this place to anyone who is looking for an event space, you can do anything here.

After reading a few of the reviews, and knowing the area the Guild Event Venue is located in… attending lots of First Fridays and music shows around the location, I knew that parking would be an issue. I don’t street park. I tackle this in lot’s of reviews about Kansas City.
I walked inside, after parking at Grinders. It doesn’t bother me to walk alone at dusk. I entered the venue and immediately loved the high ceiling and the architecture. There’s a couple of rooms and a spiral staircase to another level. It was closed off to the Jacobson people, and other food vendors last night, though.
The walls expose bricks, wood. The ceiling is gorgeous with a beautiful chandelier. It’s different levels at times. Truly beautiful architecture. The bathrooms have an actual door, on each stall, with locks that worked. The sinks are oversized with good lighting. The womens restroom was kind of hard to find, but this is always, isn’t it?
The venue has a large outside area, and I mean large. It would be excellent for a wedding reception. I loved the space outside.
I do wish there was a bit more lighting, and not so dark. Walking back to my car, we pretty much walked together, this was a Unilocal event. Every one leaves around the same time. I loved the venue and would totally recommend it to others.

SO I went to a Unilocal event here tonight. One word to describe this venue? AMAZING. I’ve seen pictures of this place, but none did it justice. It has an awesome urban chic feel to it. Exposed brick walls, high ceilings, huge windows and the most massive and beautiful chandelier EVER makes this place super unique and super gorgeous. You could seriously have any type of event here, from the really laid back Unilocal Winter Wonderland event to a super glamorous wedding reception extravaganza. Who cares if it’s not in the middle of downtown? Parking down there sucks anyway. I’ll definitely be keeping this place in mind for my wedding reception!

I went to an event here last night and met one of the owners. His staff did an exceptional job and I’d highly recommend this as an event space to someone who is looking for an indoor and outdoor setting for their next event. It’s quite a large space in an old school building which gives it an art deco vintage feel to it. The bathrooms are quite a treat as is the ginormous chandelier hanging in the main space. Look up at those cathedral ceilings! This space offers plenty of street parking (it’s a non-​busy area of downtown) and easily walkable from many areas of the city (I walked to there last night).
I totally agree with what Jennifer K wrote. I really don’t know what J.K. was talking about as I’ve walked /​driven around this area several times and haven’t seen anything of the sort. I’d feel comfortable walking around here at midnight! Of note, there is a homeless shelter within a few blocks, but they are harmless and again, I didn’t see ANY in the area and if there were quite a few, surely we would have been accosted in short order to make a donation to their cause.

I volunteered at the TEDxKC pre-​party at this venue and have to say — I loved it. The giant chandelier in the middle of the main room is an elegant touch to an otherwise somewhat gritty, urban feeling space. The bar is well placed in the center on one side, and there’s plenty of room for other activities to go on. The fenced-​in outdoor space in the back is a nice touch for events held when the weather allows for its use.
The coolest thing, to me, is that it’s also a working studio. The office/​studio space next door was great spillover when the event got crowded, and the craftsmanship with everything from the tables to the bathrooms is gorgeous.
Sure, it’s in the east Crossroads. Yes, it’s not the most crowded area at night. Things can happen anywhere, and I certainly didn’t feel unsafe leaving the event that night, nor do I generally feel unsafe in the area. Keep your head up, don’t leave valuables in sight in your vehicle and you’ll be fine.
All in all, a fantastic addition to the ever-​increasing number of really great event spaces in downtown KC.