Danielle Ray
STERLING — The 228 has been the site of many celebrations — happy occasions, including weddings, baby showers, birthdays and graduations; and even somber ones such as celebrations of life — an honor of which the mother and daughter co-owners team is proud.
“We are a great option for people because we are a locally owned business that affords people a lot of flexibility and options without making them do all the work,” said Sharon Olsen, who opened The 228 with her mother, Patricia Fisher, six years ago.
Olsen, who grew up in Sterling and has lived in Princeton with her family since 2009, has the role of general manager at the functions facility, which sits on the picturesque Leominster Road property where the popular Twin Oaks restaurant used to be.
“We decided to keep the property as one intact parcel after finding out The Twin Oaks was closing and there was interest to divide it into housing lots,” Olsen said. “It’s a place my mother has always loved, and we wanted to be able to continue to share it going forward as a lovely indoor and outdoor place to host private events.”
They originally intended to remodel Twin Oaks, but when they discovered it just wasn’t viable given its condition, they started from scratch.
After Twin Oaks was used for controlled burn training exercises by Sterling Fire and other local departments, they “decided a barn was an appropriate replacement, compatible with the town and the area’s history of agriculture, a chair factory and a tea house,” Olsen said.
Since they slid the big red barn doors open for their first wedding on June 3, 2016, they have hosted more than 400 events, from intimate to large. The facility is available to reserve seven days a week. While the majority of the functions are weddings, they also host corporate events and occasions of all types.
“They have choices about their event size, details, and budget while still utilizing The 228’s planning tools, staff expertise, and rental items onsite and to make the process streamlined, stress free and fun,” Olsen said of their clients. “Then at the end of the event, we do all the cleaning and pack up for you, included.”
Like so many others in the functions and events sector, The 228 had to close when the pandemic shutdown hit in 2020.
Fortunately, because they have an expansive outdoor area where many events are held, they were able to reopen within a few months and offer choices.
“We closed and reopened as required by state mandate, but as an indoor and outdoor facility we always gave our clients, when able to do so, the option to move forward with smaller events, move them outside, follow social distancing guidelines, or split them up and host the ceremony that year and reschedule the larger reception the following year,” Olsen said of how they managed those challenging times. “Everyone was struggling with dealing with the pandemic. We didn’t want peoples’ weddings to be another horrible memory from 2020. We were as flexible as we could be.”
She said they have some exciting things in the works, “two upgrades” that they are happy to share with their clients and that people should “stay tuned.”They will be rolling out their customer portal this fall, just before the holidays and, Olsen said, “Finally, after six years, thank you for your patience,” they have WiFi, thanks to the Sterling Municipal Light Department’s Local Area Municipal Broadband, fiber-optic internet service.
When asked what she enjoys most about her job, Olsen did not hesitate to say, “meeting new people and hearing their unique event visions,” and added that they “enjoy hosting parties for our local emergency services and charity events that are near and dear to our hearts.”
She and her mother and their team of dedicated staff members are grateful for the community backing they have received over the years, which has undoubtedly helped to shape their success, and they are now accepting reservation for 2023 and 2024 events “Thank you very much for your continued support,” Olsen said. “We are not perfect, but work hard to exceed your customer service expectations and deliver the best value for each event. Constant improvement is always a goal.”
