Client receptions, company parties, galas and weddings for up to 450 seated guests or 900 standing can be held at Galleria Marchetti, a family-run event venue at 825 W. Erie Street in Chicago. Two separate venues share the site, The Pavilion and La Pergola, and they can be booked one at a time or together.
Seminars and company events
The venue hosts client receptions, company gatherings, meetings, presentations and networking evenings, as well as fundraisers, brunches and luncheons. The spaces are set up for audiovisual equipment, and the team helps coordinate outside vendors and plans load-in so that a production crew can work without disturbing guests. Floor plans change with the format, from a seated presentation to a standing reception, and all-inclusive packages group food, drinks and rentals into one budget.
Weddings and receptions
Couples can hold the ceremony, the cocktail hour and the reception on the same site, moving between indoor and outdoor spaces that connect. Wedding packages come in three tiers named Argento, Oro and Platino, with optional food stations such as antipasti, a pasta action station, wood-fired beef tagliata and a late-night Neapolitan pizza station. La Pergola has had a couple's suite since 2022. Rentals include dance floors, Chiavari chairs, staging and bistro lights.
Rooms and capacities
The Pavilion is the larger venue. It combines a garden courtyard, an old-world anteroom and a 6,000 sq ft tented ballroom with its own lighting, heating and air conditioning. It seats up to 450, 375 with a dance floor, and holds up to 900 for a cocktail reception. La Pergola is a 3,000 sq ft glass-enclosed ballroom with travertine floors, Moroccan brass sconces and a motorized retractable roof. It seats up to 180, 150 with a dance floor, and takes 250 standing.
Catering
Catering and bar service are provided on site by the venue's own team, led by a head chef and a head banquet captain. Wood-fired pizza ovens were added in 2017. Other vendors come from a curated list, and any outside supplier must be approved by the venue.
History and setting
The family story starts in 1924, when Giuseppe Marchetti opened the Como Inn on Milwaukee Avenue, which grew to more than 1,000 seats and 13 banquet rooms. His eldest son Joe bought the Erie Street property in 1975 for his classic Ferrari business, International Auto, Ltd. In the mid-1990s he renamed it Galleria Marchetti and turned it to events. After Joe died in 2002, his son JP took over with his husband, Corey Smith. The courtyard and arbor were added in 2021.
Getting there
The venue is in River West, just west of downtown Chicago, and O'Hare International Airport is the main airport for guests flying in.
