In 1957 Joe and Emma Amato opened a corner deli in the Philadelphia suburb of Ardsley, Pa.. They offered groceries and luncheon meats, eggs, milk and bread. They worked hard staying open from 7Am to 9PM seven days a week. Amato's Delicatessen was a convenience store before the era of convenience stores.

One day in, 1962, a former neighbor that had moved out of the area, returned to town to attend a funeral. She stopped at the deli and asked if Emma could make some cold cut platters and salads to be picked up after the services. Emma did, and the next day she hung a sign in the store that read:

           "ASK ABOUT OUR CATERING SERVICE"

By 1967 Amato's Delicatessen had given way to Amato's Catering Service which served the Philadelphia area for another 25 years.

In 1985 Emma and Joe "retired" leaving the business in the hands of son Joe Jr. and his wife Patti. They split their time between Ardsley, Pa. and Seminole, Fl. where younger son Alan was gaining a reputation as a great chef at a private club and restaurant.

Alan opened Banquet Masters in 1991. It was an overnight success. So much so that two years later, Joe Jr. and Patti sold Amato's Catering and moved to Florida to work with Alan .

 The growth of Banquet Masters continued until it became obvious that more resources were needed to meet the demand. As fate would have it, Ron Guttveg, the 18 year proprietor of Bounty Catering in Dunedin, was looking for some relief. In May 1994 Banquet Masters acquired Bounty, hired Ron and Banquet Masters II was born.

Banquet Masters II is operated by Joe Jr. and Patti. Their hands on expeience in catering coupled with Ron's years of business in the community have Banquet Masters II ranked among the premier catering firms on the west coast of Florida. Located in the Tampa Bay Conference Center, just off of US 19 and Ulmerton Rd., Banquet Masters II features three banquet rooms including a 300 seat room with cathederal ceilings, chandeliers and a 400 square foot dance floor.

Banquet Masters II off premise enterprises include functions as far south as Naples, east to Orlando and north to Weeki Waachi  and Ocala. We've even gone west, catering to charter boats in the Gulf of Mexico.

As a preferred caterer at Ruth Eckerd Hall we have been pleased to serve Ringo Starr, Aaron Neville,and Crystal Gayle and many other of the celebrities that perform at the theatre.

Banquet Master II corporate clients include Marriott, Ramada, Best Western and Holiday Inn hotels. We've catered seminar and training sessions for Florida Power, Honeywell, Avaya, and Hospice. We catered a 1500 person Tech Data employee Christmas party and 1200 people for a Aegon Corp. shareholder meeting.  

Banquet Masters II has a long standing relationship with the Clearwater Phillies -pretty exciting for a guy that grew up rooting for Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt- we provide lunch to the players and coaches for spring training, through the Gulf Coast League season and into the fall. Banquet Masters II catered the ground breaking ceremony for the new baseball/multi use stadium being built on US 19 and Drew St..

Banquet Masters II is one of only a handfull of caterers in the Tampa Bay area offering kosher service. We have catered Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, weddings, bris and namings, Shabbat and kiddush meals and Seders in Tampa, St Petersburg, Longboat Key, Sarasota, Clearwater and Pasco County.

Banquet Masters II has catered the routine and the unique, we are regularly challanged with some new concept or venue, menu or reciepe. We meet the challanges and overcome them by relying on our experience, hard work, and resourcefulness. If all else fails we can always call on Emma and Joe. They said that they were "retiring" back in 1985 but they are always available to lend a hand, or good advice, to Joe Jr. and Alan.