Kitty's Owners Open New Utica Event Venue on Genesee St
The owners are moving their long-standing catering operations to a new facility, changing the competitive landscape for local events.
Updated on Oct. 21, 2026 in Openings & Closings
Live Poll
Do you believe more local event venues improve community access to celebrations in your area?
The owners of the long-operating Utica business Kitty's have expanded their operations by opening a new event venue, La Banca Catering & Events. The new business now occupies the space located at 268 Genesee Street.
Why it matters
For local operators, this move represents a significant relocation and pivot for a established family business as it shifts its footprint into the downtown corridor. Such transitions often indicate a strategy to capture higher-volume catering demand by moving from a legacy site to a dedicated venue space.
The new facility is located at 268 Genesee Street, marking a transition from the owners' legacy operation on Oneida Street. While this expansion consolidates the brand's presence in Utica, the total square footage and projected event capacity have not been disclosed.
The players
La Banca Catering & Events
A newly opened event venue operating in Utica.
Kitty's
A long-operating family business previously located on Oneida Street.
The details
La Banca Catering & Events leverages the operational history of its predecessor, Kitty's, to establish a presence in the competitive event services market. By securing a space on Genesee Street, the owners are transitioning from their traditional footprint on Oneida Street toward a centralized location designed to host, manage, and facilitate catered events.
Timeline
- 2026-10-21
The opening of La Banca Catering & Events was confirmed.
Market Landscape
This expansion follows the broader trend of established neighborhood operators transitioning into centralized urban districts to scale their service capabilities. The move highlights how legacy brands can reposition themselves to capture increased event demand by exiting traditional neighborhood sites in favor of dedicated, high-traffic corridors.
Operators in the service and events sector should watch how this transition affects local demand for bookings and vendor partnerships in the Genesee Street corridor. The move serves as a reminder to track how competitors utilize legacy brand equity when launching new, specialized service facilities.
The takeaway
Legacy businesses often use a change of venue as an opportunity to overhaul service delivery and re-engage a broader client base. Monitor how established local brands evolve their operations when moving into new facilities to ensure your own service offerings remain competitively positioned.
Further reading
For more on shifts in the local commercial real estate scene, see Utica Openings & Closings.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Rome Sentinel.
Live Poll
Do you believe more local event venues improve community access to celebrations in your area?
