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BUSINESS
TheMesaTribune.com
THE MESA TRIBUNE | DECEMBER 5, 2021
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Family trio acquires Mesa event center at the right time BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor
T
iming can be everything in business and for Charles Cotter and his two children, buying Superstition Manor in Mesa could not have come at a better time. While it caters to a variety of gatherings, its specialty is weddings and Cotter, his son Taylor and daughter Sharley Leavitt, acquired the 10-yearold property on the northwest corner of Signal Butte and Brown roads from the founding Burns family just as the pandemic has been loosening its grip on couples eager to tie the knot. “Weddings have not only come back in full force. It is a force to be reckoned with,” Taylor said. “You had a lot of people that rescheduled or postponed their wedding for a year and then you still had the busy season on top
of that. And right now, the industry is projected to have more weddings in 2022 than there has ever been in the last several years. “So, 2022 is supposed to be crazy,” he continued. “We already have over 160 events booked for 2022 and we are projected to break 200.” They got a taste of that level of business in October, which Taylor called “literally insane” because “it was something like 19 events in eight days….That was our welcome to the new business moment.” And even more fortunate for them, the sprawling Superstition Manor grounds and mammoth reception center came equipped with three halls that can accommodate between 100 and 250 people, two fully equipped commercial kitchens and a half-kitchen and a staff of some 40 to 50 experienced servers, cooks and other per-
Taylor Cotter said the Superstition Mountains form a romantic backdrop to the grounds at Superstition Manor. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)
The new owners of Superstition Manor in Mesa are, from left, Charles Cotter and his children, Taylor Cotter and Sharley Leavitt. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer) sonnel. Beyond that, however, two features have made Superstition Manor a highdemand wedding venue, Taylor said: first, it’s pretty much a one-stop-shop for weddings and second, its pristine desert grounds with an unobstructed view of the majestic Superstition Mountains make romantic settings. Neither Taylor nor his sister are complete strangers to the wedding industry. Taylor has been in the wedding industry for years as a photographer and videographer and his sister also is a long-time wedding photographer. For them and their father, buying Superstition Manor was almost a nobrainer, since they were inheriting an experienced staff and a location that most couples likely will find an ideal venue for exchanging vows. “What’s really unique is where the property is situated,” Taylor said. “Across the street is actually a part of Usery Park Preserve and so from a
couple of our ceremony yards where people get married, the backdrop is literally raw desert and Superstition Mountains. That’s one of the really unique things about the property: the view is unmatched. If you look out across the street, you don’t see houses. You don’t see development. You don’t see anything except just straight desert and Superstition Mountain.” “Then there are lots of places on site as well,” he continued. “The previous owner did an amazing job of landscaping. And even without that view, you could stay just on the property and there is a ridiculous amount of places that you can go and couples can go to take gorgeous photos in a very wellmaintained, landscaped area.” While Arizona currently is between the state’s two biggest wedding seasons of October-November and March-April, this is no time for the Cotter family to relax – and only part-
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