Looking for a birthday party venue

**adamjab19** · January-07-12, 05:11 PM

Hello everyone! I am looking for a place to host my wife's thirtieth birthday party. We like to hang out in Detroit so I thought I could find somewhere to have a party. The two ideas I have come up with are trying to get a hold of Supino's for a private evening there or going to the Volt bar in the Ren Cen [[nice, open floor plan). I was also going to check if opus one could lend us a corner of their bar. So just looking for a place with a nice room or area for us to get together for some drinks and appetizers. Not really looking for the VIP booth at Pulse or anything, something a little more unique!

It will be about 20 some people on a Saturday in May. The few ideas above are the types of places we like to hang out.

Thanks in advance!

**DetroitPlanner** · January-08-12, 12:53 PM

Chuck E. Cheese has pizza too, and it also has birthday accomodations! Just be on the look-out for those wanting to pick fights!

**adamjab19** · January-09-12, 12:53 PM

Thanks, I think, for the suggestion!

Although I bet there are some goof balls that would throw an adult party there for nostalgia sake!

**gnome** · January-10-12, 09:28 AM

Sounds like you are looking to drop some big coin for this party. No problem there as I'm sure a number of places who'd help you lighten your wallet. The issue is finding a place small enough so as your group wouldn't feel like a pea in tin can.

Essentially you're looking for a place with a liquor license, maybe a small kitchen, that you can "own" for the evening.

For a completely down-scale venue I can recommend Tom's Tavern on 7 Mile just east of Wyoming. The place is tiny and your group would feel quite cozy. The place is funky in that the floor and the bar both suffer from a 20 degree tilt. The floor is so wonky the chair legs are cut at different lengths so one can sit level. The front door is only about 5'6" so most folks have to bend over to get inside and the bathrooms boast some of most unique scriptings every seen this side of the Atlantic.

In short it is a dump.

However, it never fails to amaze those who care to bend their knee to enter. It features one of the best juke boxes around, the coldest beer ever served from a beaten up coca cola cooler and a truly unique set of regulars. Nowhere else will you find a stranger collection of lawyers, junkies, gamblers, doctors, media people and sport stars each one in hot debate over politics, gas prices, or the Lions/Tigers/Red Wings.

Now the characters are all part of its character, but for you, the relevant issue is that you could 'own' the place. Run a tab and walk out spending a couple hundred and give your bride an event she will never forget.

from an old thread:
http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...y-Proper/page3

**adamjab19** · February-06-12, 05:07 PM

Just an update. It is pretty hard to plan a cost effective night out in Detroit. What's more is that the few places that match what I am looking for aren't getting back to me. I mean, if I had an entertainment establishment and someone called/emailed about bringing in 20 people on a Saturday night I think I would get back to them.....

Anyways I am in between Motor City Wine and Whitney Garden. But as stated above it's like pulling teeth to get information!

Thanks for the idea Gnome. That may work for my b-day though!

**claudia_22** · June-06-12, 03:49 AM

If the party is planned right, that could be great and a perfect venue is the important part of that right planning.
los angeles party venue

**Kathleen** · June-06-12, 05:34 AM

Adamjob19: Please give us an update on where and how the party was!!

**adamjab19** · July-03-12, 12:02 AM

Sorry. Forgot about this... here goes...

Decided on the Whitney Garden. As stated above I did a lot of teeth pulling with some other establishments. The Whitney was very accessible and affordable [[no rental fees just had to buy some sort of food/ drink package. I bought a bunch of apps).

So the planning went well with The Whitney. They have a few people there that just handle events and I was able to reserve the deck, order some apps for my guests, pay for their valet at a reduced cost, and the guests were able to purchase from the Garden Menu [[dutch treat

), plus they let me bring in my own dessert platter that they kept in the cooler for me, how cheap of me is that!

Thankfully it was a PERFECT night weather wise, although they had a dinning room reserved just in case the weather sucked.

My only "thing" was that as the planning went along the couple ladies I worked with kept trying to get me to not have the menu option for my guests. And they kept saying 'IF your guests want to order off the menu' and I kept telling them 'most of the guests WILL BE ordering off the menu'. I couldn't figure out why we were having these exchanges until that night. It seems they weren't staffed for us??? I mean we only had one server for a total of 28 people. She was running all night. She got most of the drinks, brought out the apps, and ALL of the food by herself! Although a nod to their customer service: mine and my wife's food was brought out in about 15 minutes while others waited about 30 minutes more. It took about 25 minutes to get the checks at the end of the night because the server wrote everything on paper and then had to transfer it to the computer. I felt bad for her though. I know she was tipped well in the end, but I was told there would have been a couple more staff for the evening. So as the "host" the lack of efficiency on their part was making me nervous and a couple people were a bit miffed about some of the waits for drinks and food. We arrived there at 7, apps were out by 8, dinner orders in by 8:30 and food out about 9:15 and we were gone by 10:30 or so. So not awful timing, but some people arrived hungry and there were a couple of tense guests waiting for their food etc....

ANYWAY, all in all a great night. People told me they had a nice time, enjoyed the food for the most part, and enjoyed the company of others. All of our friends were dressed nice, for some it was a good excuse to call a babysitter and have a nice night out, plus I got some good pictures of everyone with the birthday girl and the gardens as a backdrop! I would recommend them, but just buy your guest a few more apps. and call it a cocktail party instead of a dinner party I guess!