Cocktail receptions, private dinners, corporate off-sites and meetings, small weddings, launch parties and concerts can be held here for up to 50 seated or 100 standing guests when the whole venue is booked, or 40 seated and 60 standing in the ballroom alone. FONO is a hi-fi bar and event venue at 473 Bronson Avenue in Centretown, in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario.
Seminars and company events
The venue lists corporate off-sites, meetings, panel talks, symposiums, workshops and film screenings among its formats. The Ballroom has a full audiovisual setup and technical hookups for laptops and presenters, and Wi-Fi covers the building. A team session can run in the bright Ballroom and end with drinks in the low-lit lounge, or a company can take both rooms for a holiday party with a DJ. A corporate package can be downloaded from the private bookings page, and the event staff handle setup, sound and coordination on the day.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings and receptions are part of the offer, at the scale of a seated dinner for 50 or a standing party for 100. The Ballroom suits the dinner and the dancing, and the lounge works for the cocktail hour before or the after-party. Birthdays, family reunions, fundraisers, art shows and vernissages are booked as well, and the team can arrange live music or a DJ with the venue's own sound system.
Rooms and capacities
The Hi-Fi Lounge takes its cue from the Japanese listening bars known as kissa: low light, a large wrap-around bar, a hi-fi sound system, a DJ turntable and a vinyl collection. It suits cocktail receptions, small dinners and mingling. The Ballroom is a bright, open room with high ceilings, its own bar station, flexible layouts, climate control and semi-private access with a back room. It seats 40 or holds 60 standing. Booking the Hi-Fi Lounge and the Ballroom together gives 50 seated or 100 standing, with an optional second bar station. In-house furniture is included in both cases. For concerts and performances, the venue offers instrument hookups, modular staging, lighting and projection.
Catering
FONO is a bar rather than a full restaurant. It serves cocktails, natural wines, a selection of beers and a seasonal menu of small plates and dishes to share, which suits grazing receptions better than plated banquets. Menus are published as PDF files and change through the year. Beverage service at the Ballroom bar is arranged with the booking.
History and setting
The building dates from 1925, when George Brown and Sons built it as a workshop for monuments and memorial stones. For years it then housed Re-Cycles, a nonprofit bike shop and community workshop, and its vine-covered front was a familiar sight on Bronson Avenue. The renovation kept the high ceilings, the large windows and the historic character, and created the two rooms used today. The venue is fully accessible.
Getting there
The address is 473 Bronson Avenue, in Centretown, south of Parliament Hill. Ottawa station, served by VIA Rail, and Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport are a short drive away. The public bar opens Wednesday to Sunday in the evening, so private hire outside those hours should be raised in the request.
