Continental already had boots on the ground at Michigan Central Station before anyone signed anything.
The Sterling Heights-based hospitality company is now the official exclusive catering partner for The Station in Corktown, a deal that formalizes what had already been happening since the building reopened. Continental’s two flagship brands, Forte Belanger and Two Unique Catering, had been working events inside the restored 1913 landmark before any formal agreement existed. That informal run is over. The contract is signed.
Michigan Central reopened in June 2024 after Ford Motor Co. spent six years and hundreds of millions of dollars bringing the building back from complete abandonment. For anyone who hasn’t walked through that main concourse off Vernor Highway, the scale is hard to describe without sounding like you’re overselling it. The ceiling alone sets expectations that the food and service had better meet. Getting catering right at a venue like this isn’t optional.
“The demand to host events at The Station has been incredible since we opened our doors,” said Michael Kalt, chief commercial officer at Michigan Central. “Partnering with Continental allows us to scale our operations and keep up with that momentum.”
Between Forte Belanger and Two Unique Catering, Continental brings deep Michigan event experience to the arrangement. Forte Belanger handles the high-end culinary side, with a track record running large-scale regional events and a reputation the company’s earned over decades in the market. Two Unique Catering covers the format-flexible end of the spectrum, which matters for a venue that’ll host a nonprofit gala one weekend and a Fortune 100 corporate function the next. Continental itself serves more than 3,000 clients, ranging from local businesses to some of the biggest companies operating in Michigan.
The scope of the agreement is broad. Continental will manage food and beverage, full catering operations, and event services for every gathering hosted at The Station, from 18-person private dinners to 180-person weddings to civic celebrations that fill the main hall. That’s not a simple staffing equation. It’s why the exclusive arrangement, rather than a rotating vendor list, makes operational sense for a venue that opened less than two years ago and is still establishing its event infrastructure.
“This partnership reflects our ability to support events of every scale,” said Charlie Millerwise, president of dining and hospitality at Continental.
The building opened in 1913, sat vacant for 30 years before Ford acquired it, and went through a restoration that the company has described as one of the most complex historic preservation projects in Michigan’s history. The station is expected to host a growing number of events through 2027 as Ford’s broader Corktown campus continues to take shape around it. None of that matters if someone walks out of a wedding there thinking the food was forgettable.
Mya Robinson, Michigan Central’s head of events and visitor engagement, put it plainly. “When people host an event at The Station, we want the hospitality to be just as memorable as the building itself,” Robinson told DBusiness Magazine. “Bringing Continental on board allows us to offer our clients a higher standard of service from start to finish.”
That’s the sales pitch, sure. But it’s also the right instinct for a venue that doesn’t get a second chance at a first impression. The restoration didn’t happen so people could stand in a beautiful room eating mediocre chicken. Ford’s investment in this building, and in Corktown broadly, only pays off if The Station becomes a place people actually want to book, and then come back to talk about.
Continental’s 14 years of operating across Michigan and its existing familiarity with The Station’s spaces give the company a running start. The brands weren’t strangers to the building when the ink dried. They’d already figured out what the loading dock situation looks like, what the kitchen constraints are, how the event flow moves through the concourse. That kind of institutional knowledge doesn’t show up on a catering proposal, but it shows up in service.
More on the partnership is available through the Michigan Central website and at continentalserves.com.
