There are many pros to living in a big city - - one is the smorgasbord of clubs/lounges to choose from, especially on a holiday weekend! In an effort to not trick off a ridiculous amount of money I decided on 2 events: Saturday night at
Kamehachi Sushi Bar (hosted by 432 Entertainment) and Sunday night at Crimson Lounge (hosted by the Black Alumni Network).
Saturday night - Kamehachi Sushi Bar - 432 Entertainment
Kamehachi of Toyko 240 E. Ontario St. Chicago, IL 60611 312-587-0600
The
flyer stated that the event would be from 9p - 3a. Since it was a holiday weekend we expected most places to be packed and decided to get there earlier than the standard 11p club arrival time. We pulled up around 945p and to our amazement were met with the sights of an empty restaurant and full staff, standing around the bar!
Their blank stares were only matched by ours.
"I could've sworn the flyer said 9p-3a" I told my friends. I felt
solely responsible for leading them on this send off mission...I do not make a habit of selling wolf tickets and had assured my friends that this event would be legit! We went to the bar and ordered some drinks...hoping that the club gods would wave their magic wands and people would begin to trickle in...this never happened. Throughout the night the club had, at
MOST, 30-40 people!!! Yes, 30 to 40 including the promoters themselves who didn't show up until close to 11p! I didn't know that promoters were running modern day hood operations! The pros: We
got there earlier than the promoters and didn't have to pay a cover... Cons: We
got there earlier than the DJ too and had to wait for some music.
I felt bad for the restaurant because they
could've made way more money staying open for dinner! The staff was bored most of the night and I doubt they made much at the bar. On the other hand the
hors d'oeuvres were amazing! I would recommend this restaurant to anyone, as long as there isn't a special event going on.
Sunday night - Crimson Lounge - Black Alumni Network
Crimson Lounge (In the Hotel Sax)
333 N. Dearborn St. Chicago, IL 60610 312-923-2453
After the catastrophic letdown the night before, I was excited to go to the Crimson Lounge! Crimson Lounge is located in the Hotel Sax and is one of my favorite lounges in the city. I had never been there for an urban event so I was looking forward to seeing how it turned out. We had sent our RSVP to the promoter (black alumni network) days before the event and received a confirmation. The email stated that we would receive discounted cover before 1030p (with the event running from 9p-2a). We got to the lounge at 10p and were greeted at the door by Benny. He was actually with the Crimson Lounge and told us that the promoter had yet to arrive or drop off a list. I couldn't believe that
AGAIN a promoter was running over an hour late for their own event! This was starting to show signs of a hood operation! Benny proceeded to explain to us that
oftentimes promoters would sign people up on their lists only to conveniently fail to drop them off at the door, show up after the cut off time, or hold the lines to reduce the number of people let in for the special price. He said that he'd be charging $10 for everyone until 11p, $20 until 12a, and then upwards of $30 to $40 as the night progressed. We didn't mind paying the $10 and went inside the club. ( I will say that many people chose to wait for the promoter to show up...which I'm not sure what time they appeared or if they even used their list...). The DJ was good, the drinks were nice (though a bit pricey...as to be expected for a lounge like crimson) and getting there early we were able to find a nice table to claim for the night. Besides the promoters being late to their own event, the only other complaint was that the lounge turned on their lights at 130a and left them on until 2a...when they immediately cleared out the club.
I can't say if this weekend was an accurate reflection on how black promoters in Chicago are hosting their events (showing up late, losing the lists, etc...) but I would think that on a holiday weekend, when you stand to double or triple your profits, you'd roll out the red carpet for your guests and be beyond on point with the execution. On the other hand, I learned a valuable lesson in being early: you get in free, discounted, a table, drinks, etc...it's worth it to beat the crowd!
It's almost that time again for the sexy, swank and upscale urban professionals to get together, throw back some drinks and enjoy First Fridays Chicago!
The flyer stated that the event would be from 9p - 3a. Since it was a holiday weekend we expected most places to be packed and decided to get there earlier than the standard 11p club arrival time. We pulled up around 945p and to our amazement were met with the sights of an empty restaurant and full staff, standing around the bar! 
Their blank stares were only matched by ours. "I could've sworn the flyer said 9p-3a" I told my friends. I felt solely responsible for leading them on this send off mission...I do not make a habit of selling wolf tickets and had assured my friends that this event would be legit! We went to the bar and ordered some drinks...hoping that the club gods would wave their magic wands and people would begin to trickle in...this never happened. Throughout the night the club had, at MOST, 30-40 people!!! Yes, 30 to 40 including the promoters themselves who didn't show up until close to 11p! I didn't know that promoters were running modern day hood operations! The pros: We got there earlier than the promoters and didn't have to pay a cover... Cons: We got there earlier than the DJ too and had to wait for some music. 
I felt bad for the restaurant because they could've made way more money staying open for dinner! The staff was bored most of the night and I doubt they made much at the bar. On the other hand the hors d'oeuvres were amazing! I would recommend this restaurant to anyone, as long as there isn't a special event going on.
After the catastrophic letdown the night before, I was excited to go to the Crimson Lounge! Crimson Lounge is located in the Hotel Sax and is one of my favorite lounges in the city. I had never been there for an urban event so I was looking forward to seeing how it turned out. We had sent our RSVP to the promoter (black alumni network) days before the event and received a confirmation. The email stated that we would receive discounted cover before 1030p (with the event running from 9p-2a). We got to the lounge at 10p and were greeted at the door by Benny. He was actually with the Crimson Lounge and told us that the promoter had yet to arrive or drop off a list. I couldn't believe that AGAIN a promoter was running over an hour late for their own event! This was starting to show signs of a hood operation! Benny proceeded to explain to us that oftentimes promoters would sign people up on their lists only to conveniently fail to drop them off at the door, show up after the cut off time, or hold the lines to reduce the number of people let in for the special price. He said that he'd be charging $10 for everyone until 11p, $20 until 12a, and then upwards of $30 to $40 as the night progressed. We didn't mind paying the $10 and went inside the club. ( I will say that many people chose to wait for the promoter to show up...which I'm not sure what time they appeared or if they even used their list...). The DJ was good, the drinks were nice (though a bit pricey...as to be expected for a lounge like crimson) and getting there early we were able to find a nice table to claim for the night. Besides the promoters being late to their own event, the only other complaint was that the lounge turned on their lights at 130a and left them on until 2a...when they immediately cleared out the club.