675 S River St,
Batavia, IL, 60510
Revelry 675 as seen in The Daily Herald
New event venue in Batavia aims to bring Hollywood-style glamour to Fox Valley weddings
It would take quite a bit for friends and clients of Shuki Moran to believe he had somehow lost his golden touch for event planning or, worse, lost his mind completely.
Moran certainly knows the event planning business, having been involved in fashion design and major event planning for Hollywood stars and other clients in the Los Angeles area for roughly 20 years.
But his closest friends thought he was crazy to put all of his cards on the table and try to make a go of it with his reception hall on the south side of Batavia.
The way Moran saw it, this was no April Fool's joke.
In coming to the Chicago area about 10 years ago to seek places to continue his event planning craft, Moran eventually offered his services from his new home base in Geneva.
More recently, he attempted to land a site along Route 31 in St. Charles to open his own banquet hall. That plan never got off the ground, but he spotted the former VFW banquet site when driving around Batavia and envisioned something special.
Even though the building wasn't in the best shape, he liked the large parking lot, 5,000-plus square feet inside and 2,000 square feet outside near the bike trail and Fox River. Plus, he could fix whatever ailed the building.
In just more than two years, he is well along in turning the empty building next to the VFW Hall into Revelry 675, his new banquet facility at 675 S. River St. in Batavia.
"People told me I was out of my mind and that the building wasn't going to be good, but I liked the site," said Moran. "Now, I have many who thought I was crazy, but now they see it, and they are surprised how nice it is."
Even though the area around Revelry 675 is primarily industrial, Moran is confident his facility will stand out as elegant, classy and worthy of memorable events.
"There's a great view at this site. It is a big building and a huge parking lot," he added. "So, every dream you want is here."
Having grown weary of big-city life in Los Angeles, Moran's desire to bring a level of elegance and a wow factor to event planning in a smaller town brought him to the Tri-Cities area. He and his husband live in Geneva.
The opportunity to plan the spectacular St. Charles wedding for his friends Donnie Wahlberg and Jenny McCarthy in 2014 cemented his love of the area.
Born in Tel Aviv, Israel and eventually coming to Los Angeles in 1990, Moran built an impressive client list while rubbing elbows with Will and Jada Smith, David and Victoria Beckham, and Brooke Burns and Gavin O'Connor.
McCarthy lists Moran as her "go-to guy" for party planning on her website.
Locally, he built a friendship with Michael Knuth, the owner of EvenFlow nightclub in Geneva and the Comedy Vault club at 18 E. Wilson St. in Batavia, not far from Moran's banquet facility.
"We should be able to support each other's businesses," Moran noted. "I couldn't believe it when he told me he was the owner of the Comedy Vault." He added that a group could go to a comedy show the night before a wedding or other event and then "have the reception here at Revelry 675 and have some more fun."
Moran said he was able to avoid the setback of COVID restrictions by spending the worst parts of the pandemic getting plans in order and obtaining needed supplies.
Revelry 675 officially opens on Sunday, May 1, with a grand opening gala set for Friday, May 6. He already has events booked in the summer and fall and some in 2023 -- all before opening his business.
"As soon as we officially open, the bookings will pick up, and there will be a lot of publicity going out," Moran said.
"Slowly, we will always draw more business people here because they will see the city of Batavia and its potential," he said. "I just love it here, and as I look out the back of my building, it's just an amazing place."
Article originally posted in Daily Herald on April 1, 2022.
