The Grid
WHAT: The Grid (Bar)
WHERE: 351 W. Hubbard St.
OUR RATING: Skip It!
The Grid – a strange bar with a strange name in a strange part of town. Unusually, we would jump at such supposed exoticism. In this case, we can think of nowhere more undeserving of your time and money that this ridiculously confused, rude and rotten little space in River North that dares to call itself a venue of “class and comfort”. As connoisseurs of both the aforementioned virtues, we can categorically say that The Grid lacks them in abundance, and we would be pleased to see the whole place shunned by our readers for inflicting itself upon your beloved authors.
Adam: As a critic, one must keep an open mind about a venue, trying not to judge it too harshly and thinking empathetically about the time and effort the proprietors put into providing your experience, thus mitigating your vitriol to a more acceptable level. I shall not be doing that here as The Grid doesn’t deserve such unabashed charity. In fact, I will be dissecting this establishment piece by piece in order to illuminate for you the most lurid details that will serve to shock and disgust.
(thegridchicago.com)
We attended The Grid as invitees for their customer appreciation day Gratitude Party. Off the bat it looked like a great idea, but when you subject your guests to something for which they are wholly ungrateful, one cannot help but laugh at the complete ignorance of the event planners. To start, doors were supposed to open sharply at 2pm. It being brisk as a witch’s teat outside, I was eager to get in and warm up a little. Of course, we waited, and waited and waited…only to be granted access at the intolerably late hour of 2:30! Rule of thumb: if you invite the press to an event, don’t make them bloody cold outside.
The fiasco that followed is best related to you by my co-author, and you can look forward to it below, but I will touch further here on some other problems we encountered. The venue itself is boring. Small, cramped and dark, it serves little purpose and reminds one of the basement of a rather ordinary home, done up to look posh. With one bar and a few alcoves, the imagination is not fired (despite numerous vent-less fireplaces), and you immediately get a feeling of foreboding that you have entered at all.
(thegridchicago.com)
On the upshot, the drinks do sound fascinating, but tend to be extremely sweet and non-alcoholic. It’s obvious that this establishment is trying to sell me a piece of coal as a diamond: what an utterly useless business strategy. Similarly, the food is sterile at best, even when served in jars that are supposed to make you coo with joy, and yet contain what might be WWI trench rations.
Alicia: Having worked in a variety of customer-centric companies in my life, I have a very strong opinion on what customer service should be and believe that there are enough businesses around and so many people in need of work that only the most fit and customer-friendly should survive in this economy. In this case, The Grid and its employees have no business being patronized for their complete lack of customer service.
(thegridchicago.com)
Basically, they completely trampled all over the meaning of customer appreciation. After making us wait outside in the bitter cold, when we were finally invited in there were only two or three tables open for dozens of guests to use – all of the booths were reserved for who knows who. And right after taking a seat and shedding our warm gear, we were told that there was a mandatory $2 coat check, and that all we were getting as part of ‘gratitude day’ was no cover, and that all drinks and food were normal prices, etc.
(thegridchicago.com)
First of all…what would we be paying cover for? Nothing! Okay, so I was getting into a restaurant/bar with no live music or drink/food deals at 2pm on a Saturday…wow, really grateful for THAT. Then, to have the gall while I am still getting settled to tell me coat check was mandatory (and not saying that upfront in advance, or at the door) and that absolutely nothing was provided for customers on appreciation day? Yeah, they were really grateful I was there, I’m sure.
Final thoughts: Boring, horrid and unbelievably and awfully dull, with no appreciation for its customers, The Grid can remain off your grid forever and for all eternity. Skip, tell your friends to skip it, and let’s make sure they never darken another afternoon again!