Kato Ballroom

Photo: Art Sidner

Mankato: Kato Ballroom

Tania Cordes grew up outside Chicago, where her father was a structural engineer and her mother a volunteer on many boards and for charities. In a telephone interview, 45-year-old Cordes said, “My mother has lots of energy and I have some of that from her, for sure.”

Her business knowledge developed as an economics major at Colgate University, after which she became a Wall Street analyst and 1995 Harvard MBA graduate. She went on to Bain & Company as a strategy consultant before running the Chicago office of an Internet employee benefits company that eventually went belly up.

She said, “I have four kids, and during the next ten years (through 2013), I was on charitable nonprofit boards in Chicago, including for the Lincoln Park Zoo and Chicago Botanic Garden.”

While entertaining in-laws over Thanksgiving 2013, she learned Kato Ballroom was for sale. Her in-laws owned it. Her husband had just left his position at a major hedge fund and was starting his own business. They could live anywhere. She purchased the Ballroom on January 1, 2014.

“This is something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Cordes. “In my nonprofit work, I organized numerous fundraising events and galas. I have a passion for entertaining, cooking, and making people laugh.”

One early challenge was her having to replace the host of Bandwagon, which Kato Ballroom had hosted for many years. She began hosting the TV show herself this April, including booking all the bands. Show attendance has jumped to more than 300.

She said, “Now I’m trying to figure out our niche, and right now we’re a private events business doing weddings, events, lunches, bridal showers, and company cocktail parties. We also do public live entertainment. The big question we have is whether Mankato needs more private event (hosts) or live entertainment?” Kato Ballroom also partners with Mankato Symphony Orchestra to offer a Pops night.

She added, “Kato Ballroom is a fabulous place. It’s magical.”

Kato Ballroom

Telephone: 507-625-7553

Web: katoballroom.com