RED, RED WALLS!!!
We weren’t INVITED to last Saturday’s “Friends & Family” sneak peek for EVO Tapas Kitchen & Cabaret, the separate restaurant component of the long delayed/eagerly awaited new entertainment complex on Olive Way which is headlined by The Social, the nightclub part of the project.
But, when has the lack of an invitation ever stopped us?
Due to the generosity of a friend, (MWAH to Matthew!) Mr. Strangeways tagged along as a Plus One to check out this Super Secret/Hush Hush Event…that everyone in town knew about. Well, not everyone…I didn’t know about it until last Thursday. Apparently, I’m not on EVO owner, Todd Nordahl’s radar…or, my invite was lost in the mail. AHEM! But, to be fair, this was apparently for “Friends and Family” of the new space. It wasn’t a “Gaylebrity” studded event by any means…I did see The Social partner Alex Garcia and I was told the Pterodactyl Group partners, Laura Olson and Chris Pardo were there…no sign of the other partner, Shanon Thorson. The Social part of the building was VERY much off-limits; the door to the club was firmly locked up despite the fact there are claims flying around that BOTH parts of the venue are set to open this week. According to EVO’s website, their Grand Opening is Thursday, May 3rd at 5:30pm…whether that means open to the public, or just the press launch, I don’t know.
I haven’t received my invite to that event either…
The Social has not updated their website, Facebook page or done any social media for quite awhile…frankly, we don’t KNOW the status as to when they open. I’ve heard the dates May 5th and May 12th batted around, and some of that info came from the lips of people involved with the project, but not super recently. I also heard from someone who HAS recently seen inside The Social’s space that it has a ways to go…it’s still “sawdusty” and not put together. (Though, it should be noted that cleaning/cosmetic/decorating doesn’t really take that long to pull together.) I’m sending out emails to folks to try and pin down the exact status for the space. Inquiring minds WANT to know!
As for EVO, I’m not going to officially critique the space…it’s not open and they’re not done decorating. But, I will remark on some generalities…
1) The name is a problem. We immediately started calling it DEVO. Gays are like that. Bitchy and Camp.
2) EVO occupies the FRONT of the building, which surprised me. It’s a decent sized space with a vault ceiling and the deck is larger than it appears from the outside. The bar is centered in the room, and there’s a fairly large amount of seating.
3) I know they’re not done, but I’m afraid that acoustically this space will have issues. I saw no signs of any attempt at acoustical design…it’s gonna be another big, open, cavernous and echo-y space where it can be very difficult to have conversations with people.
4) It’s clubbier than I thought it would be. It’s a restaurant, but they’re going for a “club” party vibe. There’s a small corner performing area and evidently, judging by that and the presence of “Cabaret” in their name, they plan on putting on a show. (But, won’t that compete with The Social?)
5) The design is very modern/contemporary/slick with the exception of the big wall covered in red plush wallpaper. This space in NO WAY resembles Todd Nordahl’s last venue, the very cozy Rosebud.
6) There were nibbles being passed around…they were tasty. Not gonna actually critique a restaurant until it’s been open at least a month. It’s not fair. And, I only drank champagne/wine so I can’t comment to the quality of the cocktails.
Just some general notes…I didn’t take any photos but there’s a few over at Capitol Hill Seattle. MUCH more to come as Seattle/Capitol Hill and Seattle Gay Scene prepare for the next installment in the never ending but always interesting Bar Wars Saga…
Until Jar Jar Binks shows up.
