HOME I am : Brittneay King

By Holli Hattery | Photo provided

Born and raised in Fort Wayne, Southside High School graduate

Brittneay King grew up hearing what a lot of people in the area heard or said when she was young, “There’s nothing to do in Fort Wayne.” While that may have been true twenty years ago, Fort Wayne has been booming in the recent decade, and King is excited that she’s been here and been a part of it. “When I was growing up, people always said there’s nothing to do here, but there’s so much to do here. It’s really feels like a big city to me,” King shares.

King is dedicated to Fort Wayne and went to college at Ivy Tech where she started studying in their culinary program but switched to event planning, which is what she’s done since graduating. She’s worked at The Cinema Center, ARCH Fort Wayne, the Allen County Public Library, and currently she’s the event planner at the Fort Wayne Embassy. All the jobs that King has held since graduating have been for local, non-profit organizations. “There are so many ways to give back and working for a nonprofit is a great way to do that,” King says.

As an event planner for the Embassy, King gets to plan a lot of things for the community to be a part of and has a front row seat to some of the events occurring. “The Embassy is a pillar in the community, and we host so many different events like Be a Tourist in Your Hometown and the Summer Nights Music Series that hosts a lot of local artists, so that’s fun.”

A self-proclaimed foodie, King has been excited about the recent explosion in diverse and delicious restaurants that have made Fort Wayne their home, especially those down on the newly renovated Landing. She’s a huge fan of brunch and recommends Ophelia’s on Wells Street. As far as night life, King enjoys going to Wrigley Field Bar and Grill and she loves bowling at Georgetown Entertainment. King is a chicken wings girl, and her top three favorite wing places are Wrigley Field Bar and Grill, Buffalo Wings and Ribs, and Tower Grill, so look to find her in any of those places.

King has been a big fan of the riverfront development and the creation and opening of Promenade Park, where she met her now husband. “That’s actually where my husband and I first met, so we like to go there and walk to the park, go to the food truck that’s down there, and get tacos,” she shares.

King has spent her whole life here and has no plans on leaving any time soon. As she embarks on her new adventure of being married, she’s happy to live in such a great community where she feels like she can raise a family and still find plenty of fun things to do. a