For a long time, the default holiday party venue in Scottsdale was basically the same room, just with a different logo on the welcome sign. Beige walls, a dropped ceiling, round tables of ten, a buffet line pushed up against the back wall. It worked well enough because it was easy to book, but it also meant every company’s party ended up looking and feeling pretty much identical. That’s starting to change. More Scottsdale companies are moving their holiday events into private aircraft hangars instead, and it’s less about chasing something trendy and more about what the space actually lets a party become.
A ballroom comes with built-in limits. Ceiling height is fixed, the layout is fixed, and there are usually house rules around production that keep things looking the way they’ve always looked, no matter how much gets spent on decor. A hangar doesn’t have those same restrictions. The open floor plan, the high ceilings, the industrial bones of the space give planners room to actually build a stage, run full lighting, and bring in entertainment that would feel cramped anywhere else. Scottsdale Private Event Venues, which manages hangar spaces across Scottsdale, Mesa, and Chandler, has leaned into exactly that, treating the hangar as part of the experience instead of just a shell to fill.
Food is where the difference really shows up. In a typical ballroom, catering usually means a buffet line or a plated dinner, served more or less the way it would be at a wedding down the hall. In a hangar, there’s enough room and enough power access to bring in an actual food truck setup with chef stations and live cooking, which turns dinner into something people engage with rather than something they stand in line for. Oak Wood Fire Pizza is a good example of what that looks like in practice. Instead of pizza sitting under a heat lamp somewhere, the truck rolls its wood-fired oven right into the event and turns out fresh, hand-tossed pies in under two minutes, so guests are watching their food get made in real time. That’s not something a standard banquet hall can offer, and it’s usually the detail people bring up back at the office the following week.
None of this is really about which venue looks better on paper. It’s about what each one lets the night feel like. A ballroom can end up feeling like an obligation everyone’s checking off the calendar. A hangar, especially with food that’s part of the show instead of an afterthought, tells the team the company actually put thought into the night. For companies trying to build culture, reward people after a hard year, or just not throw the same party as every other office in town, that difference matters more than it might seem on the surface.
There’s a practical side to this too. Hangar venues and the food trucks equipped to handle a big event inside one both tend to book out early for December, since more companies are catching onto this trend every year. Start the conversation in September and you’ve got your pick of dates and trucks. Wait until November and you’re working with whatever’s left. Food Trucks PHX works directly with venues like the hangars SPEV manages, handling truck placement, permitting, and timing so the venue and the food come together as one event instead of two separate bookings someone has to reconcile the week of the party.
If your company’s holiday party has felt like the same night on repeat for a few years running, the venue is usually where that starts to change. A hangar with the right food truck partner doesn’t just move the location. It changes what people actually remember about the night.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are companies choosing hangar venues over ballrooms for holiday parties?
Hangars offer open floor plans, high ceilings, and infrastructure that support ambitious lighting, staging, and entertainment, which most traditional ballrooms can’t accommodate without significant additional rentals.
Can food trucks cater a holiday party inside a hangar venue?
Yes. Hangars typically have the space and power access needed for food truck catering and live cooking stations, allowing options like wood-fired pizza or chef-made burger stations that a standard indoor venue often can’t support.
Is hangar catering more expensive than a traditional ballroom buffet?
Cost depends on guest count and menu choice rather than the venue type itself. Many companies find that food truck catering fits comfortably within a similar budget range as a traditional buffet, while offering a more memorable guest experience.
How early should a company book a hangar venue for a December party?
Hangar venues in the Scottsdale area typically recommend booking by early October for December dates, since demand for both the venue and compatible food truck partners increases quickly heading into the holidays.
What food truck options work well for a hangar-style holiday party?
Live-cooking options like Oak Wood Fire Pizza’s wood-fired oven or Aioli Gourmet Burgers’ made-to-order burger station tend to work especially well in hangar settings, since the open layout gives guests room to watch the food being prepared.