From Backyards to Ballrooms & Beyond

Steven Eisenstein’s tents are a class act and so is he. An Atlanta native and chief event officer of Classic Tents & Events, his company is grounded in success, making simchas sensational, events eventful and moments magical.

Launched in 2000, it began with three investors who purchased tents used in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. Eisenstein acquired the company in 2010, and at record speed, catapulted Classic Tents to become the largest top-of-the-line rental inventory in the state serving the entire southeast.

Today, Eisenstein’s corporate office, located in Norcross, sits on four acres and spans more than 50,000 square feet with eight loading docks. Eisenstein shared, “Classic Tents & Events serves many different industries, and known for festivals such as the Dogwood Festival or Atlanta Pride that require lots of small 10×10 tents, plus endless corporate and nonprofit events. We also rent tables, chairs, dance floors, elevated leveled flooring, catering equipment, stages, games, heating & cooling, power, pipe & drape, and more.”

He added, “Movie and major box office productions for both TV and film helped grow the company over the years. Our tents are mostly behind the scenes such as dining rooms and wardrobe and holding tents for extras. Occasionally, our inventory appears on screen such as in the movie directed by Clint Eastwood during the 2019 movie, “Richard Jewell.” During COVID, the movie productions wanted larger tents than previously needed, and we added 80-foot-wide and 100-foot-wide pole tents to our offerings.”

In the mid-1980s, Steven’s family moved from Dunwoody to Sandy Springs. The son of Bernie (of blessed memory) and Susan Eisenstein, he shared, “My dad was a food salesman, and I learned all about entrepreneurship from him. He was my introduction to the hospitality industry. My first job at age 12 was washing dishes at a Plaza Pizza in Virgina Highlands and later studied hotel-restaurant management and got two degrees in four years.”

After college, he worked at the Cobb Galleria Convention Center and met his wife, Lynne (Shapiro), while working for Westin hotels. He spent many years with the Omni Hotel and catering at Wolfgang Puck at the Georgia Aquarium. Steven loves the industry and shared, “Some of our most meaningful accomplishments, included helping with our 39th president’s (Jimmy Carter) funeral service, as well as his wife Rosalynn a year prior. From locations like NASCAR sites, concert venues, golf courses to UGA’s Sanford Stadium, no two days are ever alike.”

In March, Eisenstein began serving as the chair for the Event Rental Shared Interest Group (SIG) for the American Rental Association. Steven’s leadership is visionary. His more than 100 employees are part of his big family, and he makes sure they are trained properly, and equipped with the latest technology. Regarding tent safety, he advises, “If someone is renting a tent, keep in mind the tent is a newly formed event space. It needs power, heating or cooling, lighting and flooring. Tents cannot be used in strong gusts of wind. Have an emergency plan for all events, and watching the weather is important to the success of all events. We work with some super high-end planners that have amazing ideas and there is so much talent in our wonderful city.”

In April of 2022, they added an additional 7,500-square-foot warehouse needed for Classic Tents to grow its inventory. A memorable family event was held there a year later, when the Eisenstein’s hosted “E3,” which was their three children’s b’nai mitzvah together. “E” was for Eisenstein and “3” was for Elly, Seth, and Marin. They built a 25-meter tent in front of the new warehouse and created a dining room, a Club E3 lounge area along with bars, games, dance floor, and a dessert station.

Eisenstein said, “The b’nai mitzvah décor was created by our friends at YES Events Designs, entertainment thru Daniel Espuete and Amy Ackerman helped plan the entire event with all the vendors from JDV Occasions. Amy had planned a NACE event at Classic Tents years before and understood the space. Noah Hammer from 3 Cups Later handled the lighting design. The mitzvah was filled with friends, family, and campmates as our kids’ spent summers at Camp Tevya, in Brookline, N.H. Lynne worked there and her mom and grandmother, Shelley Shapiro, was camp director for years.”

Classic Tents & Events business is built on Eisenstein’s non-stop determination surpassing a field of dreams. When asked about his next tent dreaming opportunity, Steven replied in a goal-setting instant, “I would say we look forward to the upcoming Super Bowl 2028 in Atlanta!”

For more information visit https://classic-tents.com/