Michiels Fox Banquets & Rivertyme Catering

Mothers Day Brunch was a major disappointment (at least for me and my daughter). We like more traditional breakfast items for brunch, especially Mothers Day! Their selection for breakfast items only had an egg strata and sausage links. My daughter enjoys French toast, pancakes, etc. None of these items to be found!

I have been here for a few sorority formals, as well as an awards/​holiday party for my job. The atmosphere is pretty classy. I love that bathroom. Is that weird? Oh, well. It’s a pretty great bathroom: it’s clean, there’s furniture, and lots of mirrors.
I don’t drink, but my friends were very pleased by the drink selections and the bartender was very friendly. When I came here for the work function, we utilized the space around the bar really well for our purposes, and then filled up the dining area. Food was delicious and I was provided with ample vegetarian options. There was so much food leftover after we had eaten our fill, and I felt bad about wasting it. I asked our server if I could take some of it to go, and she was very accommodating. She said, «You’re right. It would be a shame for the food to all go to waste!» As a poor college student, I very much appreciated eating leftovers for two days after.
Four stars only because the dance floor is a little on the small side. Michiels Fox Banquets is a really an excellent event venue to have in Appleton. I look forward to when I will find myself there once again for another event in the future!

This is where my Nephew and his new Wife had their wedding reception. Congratulations Clif and Ariell! The food was served family style. They started with a Salad that had nice combination of veggies that included some great little Grape Tomatoes. Sides were Green Beans with Almonds and Roasted Potatoes. Both were good, but the potatoes were so good we wanted to take them back to our hotel room! I even tried to get the recipe from the waitress. The main courses were Breaded Chicken and Pepper Steak. Again, both were very good.
As with any wedding reception, the best part was the celebration of family and friends. Any chance I get to spend time with my family rates a 5 star experience! Besides, I even got my dance on after dinner!

We got married last Saturday and had our wedding reception at Fox Banquets. It was perfect! Not one thing went wrong, nor did we have or receive one complaint about anything. We had numerous compliments on the food and we agree, the food was amazingly wonderful!
If there was ever a wedding/​banquet professional, Debra Michiels is that person! From the first time we met with her, it quickly became apparent that she has more than her fair share of experience in this industry. She has seen many things and she knows what works and what doesn’t. She made suggestions, yet listened to what we wanted.
In the end, it was a comfort to know that she has a personal stake in the success of our event and she (along with all of the staff) went above and beyond to make sure that every one of our guests was taken care of. I highly recommend them for any event you have!

Had a wedding there a few months ago. A beautiful setting and delicious food. The tables were set beautifully. The manager, Shirley (I think) was great to work with; efficient and friendly. The owner however, (Debra) was abrupt, unyielding and dismissive. Yeah, we get it, your busy. Everybody is busy. So put someone else in charge of direct contact with the customer. Preferably someone more people-​oriented. Debra was not around for the reception which was a good thing. A couple of things to mention; when one of the guests told the bartender that there was water spilled on the dance floor, the bartender tossed him a rag rather than wipe it up himself. The other issue was with our guests that were still sitting at their tables after dinner. They felt rushed out of their seats because the tables were not only stripped (no problem-​understandable), but reset with linens, napkins and glassware for the next days event (huh?). Even the groom was told to remove his stuff from the head table so it could be reset. Oh, and make sure you have everything in writing and you go over everything carefully. When the couple pre-​ordered wine, Debra told them most people start with 10 bottles and more could be ordered throughout the evening as needed. She also told me the same thing when I called her, concerned that only 10 bottles were ordered. Luckily we did not listen and started with 20 bottles because the price jumped from $ 10 per bottle at the pre-​order time to $ 15 the day of, and we went through about 48 bottles. Debra said it was in the contract but nowhere did it show that extra bottles of wine would be at $ 15 per bottle the day of the reception. There was also an issue with the decorations. They «offer» a package but expect you to take it, even if you have your own décor. And it is fairly pricey. Either make it mandatory to take your décor package or be a little more accomodating when the customer needs to come in and decorate with their own. We were told we could come in at noon to decorate but 2 days before the wedding, she said she scheduled a funeral and could not come in until 3:30. Well, the wedding was at 4:30 so we had to find someone who was willing to miss the ceremony to decorate. Again, the setting was wonderful, the food superb and reasonably priced. Just make sure you have a strong-​willed person to deal with the owner if you go there. Respect for the customer goes a long way — and it would have been a 5-​star rating if that had been the case.

From what I am told, this is a very nice banquet hall in Appleton. Being a city girl, I didn’t expect much, but I was pleasantly surprised. The night we went there were 2 weddings going on. The wedding I was attending had the downstairs banquet room, attached to a cocktail room with a full bar, and a dance floor. Service was good, everything came out together and the servers kept my water and iced tea full and with smiles.
The place itself is not new, nor are tables or chairs or furnishings. Everything could use a remodel or makeover. But the people coming here are here for a celebration, not to critique how new or old the chairs or tables are.
That is one thing I’ve noticed about Wisconsin compared to CA, people here gather to be with each other. The ambiance, food and what not are all secondary. In CA sometimes, we get so caught up in the vibe, which admittedly, I look for all the time, sometimes we forget that it doesn’t matter as long as we are with good company.
Food was banquet, family style which I have never had at a wedding. Platters of fried chicken, roasted potatoes, and string beans came out after we were served individual salads and a basket of bread. I’ve never had fried chicken at a wedding! I don’t know if it was a Wisconsin thing, or just a Brahe/​Cummings family thing but I’m not complaining, I love fried chicken. The wedding cake was poppy seed and it worked with our meal. All in all, it was a pleasant family style experience I would say.
The bride and groom though, for me, made the night, as they were so loving and perfect together I was just so privileged to be able to share in their night.
The place and food were and service all tallied up to 3 stars but the bride and groom give it that extra special star…