This blog was written by Chris Hammond
Long before Chateau Ivory Event Venue opened its doors in Collierville, owner Najee Bush was a 13-year-old learning the hospitality business alongside his father.
His journey would eventually take him from serving guests at The Peabody Memphis to working alongside some of the area’s well-known caterers, including Donelson’s Catering, Big Momma’s & Granny’s Catering, and Ladyfingers by Chef Ragan Oglesby-Phillips.
Years spent behind the scenes gave Najee a firsthand look at the ins and outs of Memphis hospitality—from serving and bartending to catering, weddings, corporate events and large-scale celebrations.
He didn’t know it at the time, but those experiences would eventually lead to something much bigger.
When COVID Changed Everything
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the hospitality industry came to an abrupt halt. Like many hospitality workers across the country, bartenders and servers at The Peabody were furloughed.
For Najee, an uncertain moment also presented an opportunity to build something of his own.
He began freelancing as a private bartender. One client turned into another, and as his clientele grew, so did the demand for a more polished, professional mobile bartending experience.
That demand sparked the idea for Serving Size Memphis.
During the early stages of building the company, Najee met his future wife, Cece. Before long, the two became known to many of their clients as the husband-and-wife bartending duo.
Together, they continued building Serving Size, working events throughout Memphis and becoming a familiar name at local venues, including Memphis Botanic Garden.
But after four years in business, the industry around them began to change.
Instead of Finding Another Venue, They Decided to Build Their Own
As more event venues began creating in-house bar programs, the couple noticed fewer opportunities for independent mobile bartending companies.
They could have simply searched for more venues to serve.
Instead, they started asking a much bigger question:
What if we opened a venue of our own?
At first, the idea was something they toyed with. But in 2026, the owners of Serving Size Memphis decided it was time to take the leap.
For the couple, that decision was rooted in more than business.
“As Christ followers, we believe that we were created to love others and serve others. We knew that Serving Size opened the door for the possibility for us to create a vision where we could do just that, but on a larger scale.”
That vision would eventually become Chateau Ivory Event Venue.
Finding Chateau Ivory’s Home
Once the decision was made, the search began.
Najee and Cece spent days searching listings and touring potential spaces throughout the area, but nothing quite felt like the right home.
Then Cece came across a listing for available spaces at The Shops at Carriage Crossing in Collierville.
Her first thought was almost a joke.
“What if we had a venue at Carriage Crossing? That would be wild!”
The couple decided to take a look.
While scanning through the available spaces, they found an end-cap location near Dillard’s—and began to see what it could become.
The property owners saw it, too.
“The landowners were thrilled with our idea of opening an event venue at Carriage Crossing,” Najee says. “They were 100% on board and supportive.”
In March 2026, Najee and Cece signed the lease, received the keys and got to work.
And there was plenty of work ahead.
Building Chateau Ivory
The couple took on much of the process themselves, transforming the space over the following months into the boutique venue they had envisioned.
“It was a TON of work, and we knocked it out on our own—with the help of God, of course,” Cece says. “We wouldn’t have done any of this without Him.”
The result was Chateau Ivory Event Venue, an intimate luxury event space designed to bring a boutique experience to Collierville and the greater Memphis area.
The venue pairs a clean ivory aesthetic with French-inspired tile floors, oversized arched windows, crystal chandeliers and customizable lighting. Its flexible open floor plan can accommodate up to 120 seated guests, allowing the same room to transform for weddings, baby and bridal showers, milestone birthdays, corporate events, private dinners and other celebrations.
Rather than building a massive ballroom, the couple wanted Chateau Ivory to fill a different niche: a polished, elevated space for people who still want their event to feel grand without needing a guest list of several hundred people.
Their years working events also influenced what happens beyond the appearance of the room.
Clients can rent the venue with essentials such as tables, chairs and linens or build a more complete experience with décor, florals, draping, catering support, planning and coordination, entertainment, photography, and bar services facilitated through Serving Size Memphis.
After years of helping other venues bring events to life, Najee and Cece were finally able to create an experience of their own.
From Behind the Bar to Opening the Doors
On August 1, 2026, Chateau Ivory officially celebrated its grand opening.
For a business that started years earlier with one bartender taking private clients after being furloughed, seeing guests walk through the doors of their own venue marked a full-circle moment.
Serving Size Memphis isn’t simply the business that came before Chateau Ivory.
It’s part of its foundation.
The years spent pouring drinks, serving guests, working alongside caterers, navigating venues and watching thousands of details come together taught Najee and Cece what hospitality looks like from behind the scenes.
Now they’re putting those lessons to work under their own roof.
What started as a 13-year-old working alongside his father grew into a bartending company, a husband-and-wife team and, eventually, a venue of their own.
And in an end-cap at Carriage Crossing that Cece once joked would be “wild” to turn into an event venue, the next chapter is already underway.
About the Author
Chris Hammond is a Memphis native who enjoys the culture, community, and stories that make the city unique.
