Attempting to “host” a day after meet up

If you wanted something a bit more hands off, I would suggest looking into a space owned by your city/township (parks and rec department, usually) that way you'll only need to pay a rental fee, and then you get the liberty of bringing in your own food and beverage as needed.

If you are looking at a restaurant or event space, keep in mind that they are a business and they earn the majority of their profits from food and beverage, so they need to provide you a minimum commitment. If you expect to have an establishment set aside a private space for 40 people, then they need to be able to make as much as if they would have otherwise earned if they hosted 40 people publicly.

View Quoted Comment Yes, i understand . I’m ok with putting down a deposit which goes to the tab. I don’t want to have to separately rent a venue that is just a rental fee. But so far, I can’t get anyone to agree on multiple checks.

You could always just say we’ll be at X bar from x:00-y:00 if you want to come hang with the newly weds. You could buy some apps for the table/people to munch on if they stop buy.

View Quoted Comment Yes that’s pretty much exactly what I’m trying to do. I guess the reason I’m struggling is because the layout of the place has to be good for that.

Have you looked into parks department owned venues? They are inexpensive and very flexible.

View Quoted Comment Thanks for the suggestion but I deliberately want to be downtown in the action. It’s the reason we’ve asked guests to stay in town. So we could show them around Newport. So I don’t want to be off at some hall or park out of the way. I also don’t want to get into a situation where I’m planning catering and everything all over again. So that’s why I’m thinking just bars!

Are there any local breweries? It could be a fun and relaxing setting.

View Quoted Comment Yes that’s what I’m thinking too but so far they’re being no better with flexibility!

With the way you are wanting to handle this (large space dedicated to your party for an extended amount of time and all separate checks), I think you are going to be very hard-pressed to find any venue that allows you to do this without a rental fee or one check policy. They do this because they are dedicating a large area to your party where they would have otherwise sat several different parties, so they need to recoup the money they would have made. Also, when there are large parties, the establishment typically assigns one waitress/waiter to the party. That means that server is only making money from your party. This is why they typically have a one check policy- to prevent the headache that server would have to go through constantly opening and closing new tabs, while still trying to provide your party good service. It also means they can place an automatic gratuity onto the check, to ensure that server is properly compensated. Room/space rentals, deposits and single check policies are in place to protect the financial health of the business and its workers. The exception to this rule would probably be just a small local hole-in-the-wall pub. However, I don’t know that they would have the type of space you’re looking for, and I doubt the service would be what you are needing.

This doesn't sound like an RSVP type thing, so I don't get why you have to tell the bar/ restaurant/ brewery anything. People may or may not show up at any time, so I'd just let it work as a normal restaurant would. That way you aren't holding 10 empty tables or whatever for people who don't show up. A restaurant patio would be good for something like this as people tend to linger and socialize out there but you aren't forced to reserve anything.

Do you know approximately how many people will come? You may be better off just picking a bar and showing up. That way as guests arrive they can stand around the bar. When tables come open they can be seated if they like. Or they can come in and say hi to you, have a drink and leave, without needing to be seated. That might not work if you're expecting 50-100 people, but if it's only like 20 in a 2-hour period it could work.