Arizona is just a week away from one of the state’s highest-grossing sports events in the WM Phoenix Open that runs from Feb. 5 through Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 11. That means a horde of chefs and other employees at M Culinary Concepts team are in hustle mode.
The Phoenix-based catering company is gearing up for its 25th year working the event, with 200 chefs and other staff ready to converge on the course to feed the thousands of fans expected to attend the tournament at TPC Scottsdale.
“M Culinary and their fantastic team have been wonderful partners for 25 years. It has been amazing to witness their ability to adapt and expand with us as the scope of the WM Phoenix Open has grown so much year after year,” said 2024 WM Phoenix Open Tournament Chairman George Thimsen, in a statement. “That is a true testament to their leadership and commitment to excellence.”
The WM Phoenix Open is just one of several big events that the award-winning catering and hospitality company has lined up in 2024, including the NCAA Final Four and the Innings Festival in Tempe. In addition, the company will host a plethora of events surrounding the men’s college basketball championship, including the March Madness Music Festival at Margaret T. Hance Park in Phoenix.
The company caters events ranging from small gatherings all the way to large-scale public events.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic that swooped across the world in 2020, the company was seeing 5% to 10% growth year over year. As for many companies, it was challenging to stay consistent on revenue levels with the dip in work from hospitality customers and the slowdown of big in-person events. Now, Maxwell says in 2024 they are not only back to where they were, but they are soaring to new heights.
“We had our moments, and it was a difficult time, certainly for a hospitality company to be surviving in that climate,” Brandon Maxwell, co-founder and CEO of M Culinary Concepts, told the Phoenix Business Journal. “But at this point in 2024, we have now exceeded where we were in 2019, plus another 10%. At this point, you don’t see a lot of mess in this industry at this point.”
The catering giant will not only be serving tons of tasty food and flavorful cocktails at the WM Open, but they will also be featured at some of the other state’s top winter and spring events.
After many years of success with the PGA Tour tournament, the influential relationship led to a recent partnership with Tucson’s top PGA event, the Cologuard Classic at the Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa from March 8-10.
M Culinary will also be working Major League Baseball’s Spring Training music celebration and player meet and greet, otherwise known as the Innings Festival, in Tempe over two weekends. The Innings Festival will take place on the weekends of Feb. 23-24 and Mar. 1-2 at Tempe Beach Park and Arts Park.
The firm recently completed a series of executive appointments, including naming Michael Chiulli as president. Chiulli has been with the company in various jobs since 1999.