Independent Living Residents Dine Under the Stars

Residents at the Terrace at Phoebe Allentown were wined and dined in October during a month-long series of special dinners. Cura Hospitality, a dining services provider at Phoebe, launched Dining Under the Stars to offer residents a special dining experience that would feel more intimate. The program also gave residents the opportunity to use the Terrace patio, a landscaped outdoor space completed in 2014 thanks to generous donations during a capital campaign.

“We wanted to give our residents something different to look forward to and make them feel a little more special,” says Kim Wilson, Director of Dining Services at the Terrace. “This is something they can tell their friends and family about.”

Each week in October residents signed up for one of sixteen exclusive reservations spaces for the special dinner. Limiting the number of guests made the event more intimate and personal. “We really wined and dined them,” Wilson says. Table settings and the presence of the chef lent the air of a high-end restaurant. Menu selections included dishes like shrimp Caesar salad and made-to-order steak filet—and of course, carefully selected wines. Meals were served in the waning wake of bright October days, by candlelight. Some dinners featured entertainment, including a guitarist brought in to serenade diners.

The program was a complete success. Every dinner was booked to capacity and Wilson reports universally positive feedback from the residents.