Our History
What started as a single fine dining restaurant has grown into the largest privately held catering & hospitality service provider in the Southwest, serving clients locally, regionally and nationally.
Michael's at The Citadel
Brandon and Chef Michael said to each other, "Cuz, we should open our own restaurant." So they did. And from Day 1, Michael's at the Citadel was a hit. Who knew back then where we'd be today?!
Michael's Catering is officially launched!
So many restaurant patrons. So many requests to cater their events! We always had a hard time saying, "No." So we decided to just say, "Yes!" - welcome to the world, Michael's Catering!
Our First Phoenix Open
Once again, a chapter in our story began at Michael's at the Citadel, this time when a long-time patron asked, "Hey, can you cater my company's Corporate Village tent at the Phoenix Open?" And of course the answer was, "YES!" That year we served a few hundred attendees in one tent. This year (our 20th!!!) we will serve a few HUNDRED THOUSAND throughout the course!
A New School Year - A New Line of Business
As our restaurant chugged along, and our catering company was growing faster than we could have dreamed, along came an opportunity to try something new. The leadership at Brophy College Preparatory asked if we would run their cafeteria, feeding hundreds of students, faculty and staff daily. And so emerged a new division of our company: Business Dining. We proudly serve Brophy to this day!
"You're going to need a bigger boat." - Chief Brody in "Jaws"
When our catering business outgrew Michael's at the Citadel, we created Michael's Catering. Over the next 8 years, we added new services to the mix, and we had even moved on from the Citadel. In 2008 we realized that "Michael's Catering" just didn't tell our story anymore; we had all these new concepts. Wait a sec..."concepts" - we liked the sound of that. And just like that, it was clear to us - we became M Culinary Concepts. Our new company was the umbrella covering our rebranded M Catering, Main Course Catering, our Business Dining group, and M Restaurants (check out Heirloom and MidCity Kitchen later in our timeline). Today M Culinary is among the most respected hospitality companies in Arizona and beyond - not bad for what started as a single restaurant back in 1997!
We're headed to Oregon!
Thanks to our long-time event partner, ETZEL Agency, we became part of one of something truly special: TrackTown 2008, the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field. We loaded our trucks, loaded our best of the best in catering (to serve the best of the best in sport!) on planes, and we headed to UO in Eugene, Oregon. Two weeks and 167,000+ attendees later, we completed our first TrackTown, and we are honored to have been a part of every one since. We can't wait for the 2020 Trials!!!
Heirloom, An American Restaurant
Talented passionate Chefs need a playground to hone their culinary craft. Chef Michael is no exception, and after closing Michael's at the Citadel in 2007 to focus on other projects, Chef was ready for his next fine dining restaurant. When a space opened up at DC Ranch, we introduced Heirloom to the north Scottsdale dining scene, bringing Chef Michael's modern take on New American cuisine to life. It's no wonder that the Chef's Table at Heirloom quickly became a must-book experience...
MidCity Kitchen in Central Phoenix
Dining preferences evolve, and new trends emerge. So we launched our new restaurant concept, MidCity Kitchen, to serve busy professionals looking for a quick-service option in Phoenix' mid-town area. Fresh made-to-order breakfast items, hot and cold sandwiches, pizzas, globally-inspired main dishes and MidCity's signature rotisserie chicken delighted weekday workers at Central & Thomas. Our MidCity Kitchen concept proved so successful that we we invited to open on in the newly renovated Terminal 4 at Sky Harbor Airport - not too shabby!
“Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning.” - J.M. Barrie
It's been 22 years since we opened the doors at Michael's at the Citadel. We started out as a single fine dining restaurant, and today we are the largest privately held catering & event hospitality services provider in the Southwest. We are proof that - with passion for a craft, openness to new opportunities, unwavering commitment to excellence, and dedication to team members and clients - anything is possible. We have learned that success is the journey - OUR journey - not the destination. After all, judging by the path we've traveled, we may not know exactly what our future holds. We do know, though, that we will forge ahead by inspiring PASSION in one another, acting with INTEGRITY always, and making huge FUN along the way...
Our People
M Culinary Concepts team members are fun-loving, selfless patriots sharing an obsessive commitment to excellence, each other and our community. It's amazing what we can accomplish together.
Meet Our Team
