Event space grand opening in Queen City Quarter

COURTESY KENICE TAYLOR

Kenise Taylor is co-owner of MilliUp Event Center with her husband Carolina George.

A new Black-owned business has arrived at the Queen City Quarter, formerly known as the Epicenter.

The MilliUp Event Center is a versatile 1,811 square foot event space in Uptown. Although the official grand opening is Sept. 2 from 2-11 p.m., there are already events being held there weekly. For instance, Tuesdays from 7-8:30 p.m. are twerk dance classes to improve cardio and flexibility.

The space can accommodate up to 50 guests for events such as dance fitness class, social gatherings, intimate weddings, corporate events, private parties, and non-profits. The event space features high ceilings with natural light and equipped with state of the art AV equipment, two 60-inch display screens that allow guests to share videos or  photos, and allows businesses, sponsors, and vendors to display their product or logo.

The event center also accommodates catered events with recommendations.

MilliUp Events was started online in 2015 by Carolina George. Pretty soon his wife, Kenise Taylor, joined him on the business venture. This year, George and Taylor decided to expand the company and change the name to MilliUp Event Center to promote socioeconomic growth through entrepreneurship.

“This was the perfect opportunity to work with the Queen City Quarter to rebrand the Epicenter by opening up the doors for the community to come in and celebrate their way,” George said. “My vision for the business is to have somewhere I can call a home base for the many factions within the MilliUp LLC brand and a place for my people to advertise and grow with me by hosting their own events.”

George added he wanted to find a space so Taylor could host her dance fitness classes.

The biggest challenge with opening a brick-and-mortar business was finding a suitable spot.

“I felt like the challenge was trying to also explain to certain locations what we were trying to do,” Taylor said. “I think a lot of times, like you say events and parties and stuff like that, they have the conception that it may not be what they want in their neighborhood or their area.”

Inside the event center, there are flyers, albums, books, and other items on bookshelves advertising local entrepreneurs and music artists.

“When we have events people could stop by, purchase something or grab a flyer and look at them so we’re always trying to promote local entrepreneurs,” Taylor said.

At MilliUp Event Center, the goal is to help businesses grow regardless of size.

“What we’re doing right now for entrepreneurs who want to do that we’re like splitting the door,” Taylor said. “So, like if you’re going to do tickets, you won’t have to pay for the space just so it’s no immediate out of pocket [costs]. Whatever you make at the door, we’ll just take half of that.”

Taylor has connections within the entertainment and model industries as a music artist with two solo albums, as well as a dance and fitness instructor. She is a former Jet Beauty and Hype Hair magazine model. She also has been featured at the Bronner Bros hair shows in Atlanta and Miami Fashion Week.

The entertainment guru has worked on the sets of celebrities such as Usher, Future, and recording artists from North Carolina including Sunshine Anderson and Ricco Barrino, who is the brother of R&B singer Fantasia. She is working on her third album, which is set to be released soon.

“If you have an idea, you want to be somebody, to do something, I want to put people in the positions to be able to do that,” she said.

Taylor is also an author of children’s books. Through MilliUp Event Center, she aims for the space to be the “home of youth development” and inspire children to write books.

“Within the next year, I’ve challenged myself to create five authors” she said. “I want to help five kids become authors.”

For more information on  MilliUp Event Center and ticket prices, visit https://linkr.bio/milliupevents.

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