Revel Events Co carries on the former Lamp Liter Inn’s convention center with ideas on how to restore it, take it even further
VISALIA – Since the previous operators of the former Lamp Liter Inn stepped away from the property, a local business is taking it over – but only the hotel’s convention space.
Business-owner Sam Ramirez said the hotel side of the property, now rebranded as The Hyde, has fallen into the hands of an operator from Southern California, but his venue-operating company Revel Events Co is taking over the inn’s convention center. Because the operator from down south had no need for the hotel’s restaurant, meeting space or bar, Ramirez’s company is ensuring that the Visalia community can still access that part of the inn.
“It’s one of those places where the Rotary Club and the Lions Club meet pretty regularly, weekly, so it left a gap in there for a lot of people,” Ramirez said. “So we were able to come in now and begin operating it and be able to bring some of those events and some of those folks back again.”
When the operators of the former Lamp Liter Inn ended their lease, events that were already scheduled for the hotel’s convention space were canceled. This included a handful of social events as well as regular meetings for local businesses and service organizations. With this development, the owners of the property, the Hyde family, began to receive calls from concerned citizens and wanted to address the issue.
“When we realized the situation that was created, we knew we had to do what we could to assist the clients who’d made plans and we’re glad to be working with Sam and his team to continue seeing those through,” Brian Hyde, one of the property’s owners, said via news release.
According to Ramirez, Revel Events Co will run the center for The Hyde for a while, but not permanently. He said his company was contacted as a way to fill in at running the convention space during a transitional period, and the property owners are currently seeking out a long-term tenant. Still, he said his business is looking forward to bringing services back to the center.
“We’re really excited to bring some new life back into it, and kind of return it to that place of prominence that it’s been in the community so long,” Ramirez said.
Although he said hospitality and tourism have been hard to hit following the COVID-19 pandemic and an inconsistent economy, Ramirez said Revel Events Co has ideas to restore the convention space into a space the community can enjoy. He said his company will work on bringing the center’s bar back with some live, weekly entertainment and another hope is to bring more attention to the diner part as well by bringing a brunch concept to life for residents and travelers to enjoy.
Ramirez started Revel Events Co in Visalia, as a branch of The Naxon Group, which he also founded in 2019. Revel Events Co serves at the venue and event planning part of the company and was created specifically to handle things like venue development and creating catering companies and operations so The Naxon Group could cater for its own venues.
The Naxon Group was founded to pursue hospitality, consulting, management and development for local communities interested in utilizing its services. He said the company was originally one of the first groups involved when The Darling Hotel was taken over by local families, and lended its experience to consult them on hotel operations and development. Other local venues included in Revel Event Co’s portfolio include the Bello Vita, the Woodlands, Watermill Grove and The Mason.
Ramirez said he has worked in different parts of the country, worked for other companies and other states but as a Corcoran-raised man, he wanted to bring new options and elevated experiences in hospitality to the Valley.
“That’s what we’ve been focusing on; hiring local and using local talent, local resources, local products, just really trying to build that sort of momentum here,” Ramirez said.
An overall message that Ramirez wants the Visalia community to know is that the convention space of the newly branded The Hyde open for business. Although a lot of upcoming events at the space were canceled, he said people who had an event planned have a chance to reach out and get it confirmed once more.
“If you’re new and you haven’t been to Lamp Liter, or you haven’t been to that property in a long time, we’re going to be creating some new experiences and new improvements that I think everyone will be really proud of,” Ramierz said.
