Couples with upcoming weddings at the Prospect Park Boathouse were left scrambling last week when the Brooklyn venue’s official caterer mysteriously vanished. Luckily, the Prospect Park Alliance announced on Thursday it would waive up to $6,000 of its typical fees for weddings scheduled this fall — but some of the jilted couples have already lost up to $13,000 in deposits as a result of the missing caterer.
As Gothamist reports, Jackson Berson, the owner of the Boathouse’s exclusive caterer the Moveable Feast, vanished sometime in the past few weeks. His company shuttered as a result, wedding plans were disrupted, and the lawyer representing Berson in his ongoing divorce told a Brooklyn Supreme Court judge last week that he “seems to be missing.” However, the lawyer for Berson’s wife of 15 years, John Yacos, told the judge at the time, “There’s speculation he’s in Atlantic City or gambling now.”
Both Gothamist and DNAinfo spoke with at least six couples with weddings booked at the boathouse, who are reportedly now missing catering deposits between $8,000 and $13,000. But on Thursday, the park group sent a letter to clients with upcoming weddings at the boathouse, saying it would waive its usual catering commission and venue fee, which could save them up to $6,000. The alliance has also connected couples with another caterer for the park, Bon Soir, which has agreed to take on the scheduled weddings at a rate 20 percent lower than that of Moveable Feast, according to Gothamist.
“Like you, we at the Alliance were shocked and dismayed about Movable Feast’s sudden closure and Mr. Berson’s disappearance,” alliance president Sue Donoghue wrote in the letter. “The events of last week are unacceptable and they fly in the face of our values.”
There haven’t been any missing-persons reports filed with the police for Berson as of yet. And although the parks group met with the NYPD about the disappearance, Gothamist reports the issue is being investigated by the District Attorney’s office instead of the police department, as it is a “civil matter.”
