When I first heard Rednofive had undergone a facelift, I was somewhat puzzled.
For years, this has been one of Chicago’s hottest night spots. I can’t recall the last time I’ve driven up North Halsted Street past the place at 3 a.m. and there wasn’t a line of pretty boys and prettier girls ready to throw down $20 to dance away what was left of the night.
They must be doing something right. And in a town where the latest hot spot easily turns into a passing trend in a matter of weeks, if it ain’t broke, there’s no need to fix it. You don’t see Angelina Jolie getting work done on her lips, after all.
Why mess with after-hours success?
“It’s just that time,” said Lonnie Rodriguez, who handles promotional duties for the club, which sits on Halsted just south of where Grand and Milwaukee Avenues intersect, around the corner from another of the city’s mainstays, the Funky Buddha Lounge.
But there had to be more to it than that.
“We’re trying to stay ahead of what the customers would like to see,” said Melanie Gearhart, Rednofive’s general manager. “There is so much competition out there.”
Few places have handled the competition as well as Rednofive, a Thursday-through-Saturday destination for the post-midnight party set in the last eight years. The draw has been quite simple: It’s a hip, no-frills club with the right amount of attitude to make you feel special if, after a 30-minute wait, you happen to make it past the notoriously snooty doormen.
Once inside the hallowed velvet ropes, regulars and soon-to-be regulars find themselves inside a two-floor party paradise, a low-tech space with plenty of room for dancing and enough disco lights that you wouldn’t be surprised if John Travolta came out and strutted his stuff.
“Other clubs come and go,” said 27-year-old Amani Bantaeain, a Rednofive regular who was seated with two friends in the downstairs lounge for last weekend’s grand reopening. “But this traditionally is one of the best places in Chicago.”
A lot of that must have to do with the place’s vibe, because many of the regulars, at least in the downstairs lounge, said the changes were subtle enough that by the end of the evening they barely noticed.
“It’s been gradual,” said Jennifer Ballinger, who shared one of the soft couches in the middle of the downstairs lounge with Bantaeain. “Every time you come in, you notice something new.”
The layout of Rednofive is basically the same–the huge bar in the middle of the upstairs room, the stage with the drummer and percussionist, the big dance floor and the cozy booths in the back of the room for bottle service. It’s the new colors that catch your eye: whites and creams in the main room, flanked by three huge mirrors and massive chandeliers hovering above the dance floor. This is offset by the deep red and black of the entryway to the main room. Imagine the ballroom of a Parisian hotel from the 1900s, with pearl chandeliers and portraits covering the walls.
The renovation also features a variety of artifacts sprinkled throughout the club: a mannequin’s leg on a downstairs wall, Barbie dolls in a box behind the bar, a glitter-covered shoe hanging over the coat check. And refurbished bathrooms.
“It’s an eclectic mixture of things,” Gearhart said. “It’s sort of like when you find different things for your home. You put them all together and, somehow, it works.”
They’re not done yet. Gearhart said the upgrade is a work in progress, but regulars won’t notice any wholesale differences.
The vibe will always remain the same.
“It’s better to stick with what you’re good at,” Gearhart said. “We throw a great party. We’ll stick with that.”
One regular, Charles Martin of Lakeview, joked that the only change he’d like to see is better service when Rednofive gets crowded. (That’s to be expected, with waitresses navigating the clusters of poseurs who gravitate to the club after 2 a.m.)
But Martin said he will keep coming back, waiting in line and paying his $20 to hang out at one of the city’s hottest party spots.
“In my opinion, this is still the place to be,” he said. “They can switch things around every week if they want. It will always be Rednofive. You can’t change that.”
Rednofive
440 N. Halsted St., 312-733-6699
Hours: 10 p.m.-4 a.m. Thur. and Fri., to 5 a.m. Sat.
Price: $20
The buzz: The new and improved club–which just underwent 10 days of subtle renovations–still offers what made it popular: lines at the door, a frenzied party in the main room and a chill vibe in the downstairs lounge. All add up to a satisfying hangout for Chicago’s hardcore nightlifers.
Terry’s tip: Get there early–around 11 p.m. or so–and avoid the long lines and crowds. This place gets pretty packed as the night goes on, but the post-midnight people-watching is worth the admission.
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tarmour@tribune.com
