The Factory in Chesterfield celebrates one-year anniversary

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. — The stage is all set for the Big Gigantic on Sunday night. 

Thousands are expected to fill The Factory to see the popular EDM band. 

While many are celebrating the concert, the entertainment venue is celebrating something else… its one-year anniversary. 

The Factory opened its doors in Chesterfield on Friday, July 16, 2021. 

The plans and execution for the entertainment venue all happened in the middle of the pandemic. 

Brian Carp, Chief Operating Officer, said they’re celebrating all the fun they’ve had in the past year and the fun that’s to come.

“In some ways, it feels like it’s been a year and in some ways, it feels like it’s been a day,” he said.

Looking back at his first year in business, Carp has a lot to be proud of.

“It’s been really terrific. We’ve been very well received,” he said.

As Chief Operating Officer for The Factory, Carp experienced all the highs and the lows that came with opening up a venue on the heels of a pandemic.

“In some ways, it was difficult, just with all the regulations and different things that we had to go through to get the venue open, but in other ways, we ended up being very fortunate. We were able to form a team of really seasoned veterans, in almost every department, because they were available due to the pandemic,” he said.

That fortune only continued with awards and big names throughout the year. 

Carp said they always tried to make sure there was something for everyone on the calendar.

“We really want to make this a destination for St. Louis, and feel that we’re not only servicing the people of West County, but everybody in the entire community,” he said.

While many businesses continue to struggle with staffing shortages and inflation impacts, Carp said, they’ve been pretty lucky. 

According to him, they haven’t had to raise the bar or ticket prices, in hopes that people can forget about the outside world when they come in.

“We want to make sure that we’re that outlet for everybody to be able to continue to have fun, throughout the different changing times that we’re experiencing,” Carp said.

With most of their staff being from St. Louis, he said, the goal of their business reaches much farther than just what’s inside these walls.

“For us, it’s really about making sure that we’re bringing job opportunities to St. Louis, that we’re bringing entertainment opportunities to St. Louis, and we’re making sure that St. Louis is known on the national scene for entertainment,” Carp said.

The Factory has a lot more great events coming up that you can see here.

Just one of the many upcoming events includes its first road trip-themed beer festival on Saturday, July 30.