Kitchener’s ‘luxurious’ Hacienda Sarria event venue now up for sale

Toted as an “incredible and unique property mixing luxurious and traditional influence”, Kitchener’s once famed Hacienda Sarria is now for sale. Nestled in between Highway 85 and Lancaster Street, the 5.66-acre property on the corner of Union Street and Sereda Road is available for purchase to prospective buyers with a price tag just shy of $8 million.

Described on the realtor listing as “one of Ontario’s best wedding venues”, the site features locally sourced artwork, wood working and stone masonry as well as several unique statues and “fully landscaped gardens”. The award-winning venue, a former sugar beet factory, had been in operation for 14 years following a year of renovations.

Said to be one of Ontario’s “best wedding venues”, Hacienda Sarria made headlines in late 2020 as the Hacienda Sarria events management company filed for bankruptcy in October – citing financial issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as challenges in navigating through the provincial government’s shifting landscape of public health restrictions.

Preliminary reports received by creditors reportedly showed that the Hacienda Sarria event company was in financial trouble long before the onset of COVID-19 – posting a loss of $55,110 in 2018 and $176,761 in 2019. In 2020, those losses grew substantially to nearly $400,000 as the company took steps to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 – including temporarily laying off staff, negotiating a rent reduction and accessing funds through the Canada Emergency Business Account program.

Public creditor reports showed 155 unsecured claims for the events company – totalling over $1M in liabilities. Among those liabilities included over $600,000 in deposits for 111 events scheduled between the date of the corporation’s bankruptcy and the end of 2021. 90 of those bookings included weddings, with couples reportedly submitting deposits ranging from $5,000 to upward of $15,000.

Mike Braga is the licensed insolvency trustee appointed for Hacienda Sarria's event company, and said the legal process for the corporation's bankruptcy is still ongoing, with latest steps currently delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Braga, creditors and inspectors are still looking to have several questions about the business answered, so an examination before the official receiver has been requested. 

“It's basically the opportunity to ask questions of company principles under oath. It's a formal process that can be used in other legal processes,” said Braga. “If the customers wish to lay their claims to file a lawsuit, that information would be on record and under oath. It provides a basis for cross examination in certain circumstances, and would also allow the government to delve deeper into certain questions if anything comes up.”

“Our preliminary findings were – you know, we're not seeing a whole lot of anything that's untoward but there were a lot of legitimate questions that we think should be asked and answered.”

When asked if there was any optimism in those couples and event bookings getting their deposits back, Braga said it's unlikely – noting that the event company itself “did not have sufficient assets to pay any of the creditors”. 

“Unless we can find some way to link to a related company or some other individual, it is still unlikely that creditors are going to see any dollars as a result of this bankruptcy – and that's why there are these questions that are being raised like… what is the relationship with the various companies or principles of other companies. Those are the questions being raised to see if there's a link.”

Braga also emphasized that those looking to make a large purchase like securing a venue for a wedding should be making sure they're “as protected as possible”, as he recommended that those transactions should be done through a credit card rather than a lump sum. 

“If, in the unlikely event that a company goes bankrupt or there is some issue with respect to your purchase, you can go to your credit card company and they will facilitate through the insurance to help get some dollars back.” said Braga. “Secondly, minimize the amount of deposit that you do need to be putting down and that timing as well.”

“If you're planning a wedding a year from now (…) you don't want to be putting 50% down today to secure a location: because we don't know what the next eighteen months are going to look like.”