The owner of Tesserae Studios describes her space as "a warm, inviting, inclusive art studio,…read moregallery and event space in a beautifully remodeled 1,700 square-foot storefront in Edgebrook." After attending a holiday party at the studio, I can attest that this is a warm and special place. A non profit, Tesserae provides a social and professional space for artists with special needs and aims to be a community hub where where the public can hear music, view and create art, and socialize. Our group of twenty found booked the studio for three hours on a Friday night. Pricing is fair: $50/hour for half of the studio or $100/hour for the whole studio. We booked the back half of the studio which has a long bar area, fridge, counter and sink, cafe tables and chairs and a nice bathroom. The whole studio was beautifully decorated: soft ambient lighting and art work interspersed with winter decorations. We were warmly greeted by the owner and her son, one of the resident mosaic artists and staff was on hand to assist us with anything we needed throughout the evening. Other perks: -there is free parking in back or in the lot by Happy Foods - the whole space is newly remodeled, so it's big and bright - you can bring your own food and drinks making the price even more appealing -when the studio is open, anyone can stop in to hang out, chat, have coffee, read the paper, whatever! This would be a great space for regular meetings like book clubs or special events like wedding showers. I could even see booking the spot for a few hours on a weekend to host cocktails and appetizers for friends.

Upon entering this location, I immediately noticed the warm and welcoming atmosphere that permeated…read morethroughout. From the moment we arrived, Leah went above and beyond to ensure that our experience was nothing short of extraordinary. My 8yr daughter loves this place-she had her birthday party here recently and she cannot stop talking about how much fun she had with her friends. The spaciousness and layout was perfectly suited for accommodating a large group, allowing everyone to feel comfortable and enjoy themselves. It is without hesitation that I highly recommend this location to anyone in search of a venue for their special occasions.

This hidden gem was perfect for my needs. I was looking for an open space that I could have my…read moregraduation party for about 50-60 people. I was told about The Studio at D&B and when I walked in I envisioned having my party there. They allow you to decorate as you want and bring in your own food and DJ. This was a private party just for me and my guests and it was perfect. I would definitely use this venue again in the future. If you are up for the DIY or hiring someone to decorate you can make this place look amazing.

South Park is a wonderful multiuse park district facility on the corner of Devon and Cumberland…read more There is a park, splash pad, football / lacrosse fields, softball diamonds, tennis courts, outdoor ice rink (winter) and a multiuse building. My children have taken gymnastics and karate in there. I do not feel the seating in the downstairs area is adequate, but I hear the Park District is looking at upgrades to the facility soon. The splash pad is wonderful - plenty of fountains and a slide to amuse the kids. The park has a number of swings and a variety of slides for every age group. Basically there is something for every age group and pretty much year round. As mentioned in prior reviews, you can host a party or meeting upstairs for an economical, centrally located event.

Review for the little pool:…read more I really like and enjoy this place, and so do my kids. My 4 year old can be and feel independent because i don't have to follow her everywhere due to the fact that this place is small and round, so no hidden corners. My 1yr old and I can have fun splashing water and not bothering anyone by doing so. There are toys everywhere that they both can play with. There are plenty of chairs around for parents. The lifeguard is always watching. $6/each for non-residents of PR. I love this place!

Thought the place was very nice. The lanes were exactly what you expect for any decent bowling…read morealley. The food stand had a decent selection of incredibly unhealthy food, which is exactly what you would expect from a bowling alley. The bar was relatively well stocked and had a variety of options. The prices for food and alcohol were a bit high, but not unreasonable. And while the staff was either stoned or huffing the disinfectant spray that they use on the rental shoes, they did their job incredibly well and without any issues. So I say get good for them and grab each one another can of Lysol.

I Just read through the one-star reviews to try and understand the criticisms of this place and can…read moresay that I would not give them much credence. Many of them seem upset that the staff wont give them free games, food, or drink and seem mostly interested in trying to exploit this locally owned spot for freebies. I have been going here for around 2 years now as a completely average joe type bowler. Me and my friends will come here for birthdays and drink, play pool, and chill. The staff has always been extremely patient and kind (even when our group has been a bit out of hand/rowdy). I've met the manager/owner? and he is an old-school down to earth type guy who has always been pretty nice in our few exchanges. I typically don't eat a ton here so I can't speak to the food quality really, my friends say it's pretty standard bar food quality and quite fairly priced for what it is. The drinks have always been solid, bartender is always nice. Ambience of this place is old-school Midwest. If you want to experience bowling in Chicago akin to what it was like growing up around here I would recommend this place. Pricing on both games and hours have been fair. I would highly recommend coming here if your looking for a reliable old-school bowling experience, be sure to check online for league nights, etc. so you don't wind up without a lane when you show up. I haven't been back in a couple months, but I hope they fixed their Billiards table!!!!

Great venue. Hall was very big. Was here for a birthday party and everything was clean, and staff…read morewas very friendly and helpful.

After a long search for the perfect venue to host a milestone birthday party; I came across Amron…read more This is a hidden gem that I am glad I found! Mark, the owner was extremely helpful and flexible, from beginning to end. The space Is beautiful and well taken care of. Very good options are offered to make the experience more enjoyable; from simple to glamorous, this space fulfills all celebratory needs!

DO NOT consider a winter wedding here, and absolutely DO NOT expect transparency or flexibility…read morewith any hiccups in their formula. Also, they apparently blocked my account on Zola -- I can't find them in a search when I'm logged in anymore. Thankfully I was able to leave a review without being logged in, and am also sharing here. TLDR: they can't accommodate winter weddings, despite including those months as available on their website, and they aren't transparent about their inability to do so. They can only provide half a venue, with 40% decreased capacity, but still expect you to pay full price. I was appalled by their poor communication and business practices throughout our experience trying to book them for our January wedding. -- -- The issues started when booking a tour -- their availability is challenging if you work a day job, and we were also limited with my partner's 24/48 shifts for the city. But I rearranged my work to accommodate their schedule. The day of the tour we received a vague cancellation with 3 hours notice, saying they would work with our schedules to get a new tour on the calendar. They very much did NOT work with our schedules, declined several options I requested that would work without us making major concessions on our end, and only offered a small window later than their once-a-week evening slots. We were once again rearranging our schedule to work for theirs after their cancellation. When we finally had the tour, I'll admit it's a gorgeous venue. We were excited about booking there, but concerned about how they'd handle January events. Since their website includes Jan in their off-peak season rates, I figured they had a plan for accommodating cold weather (they have a tent for the yard, but it's insufficient for temps under 30 degrees and that's a heavy gamble for evenings in January). They didn't seem to have any ideas outside using that tent. They do have an upstairs to the venue that reflects the ground floor footprint, so I asked if they would include these in the base rate (they're usually an add-on expense) because we were losing space in the yard. They said they would "compromise" by including just one of the rooms, but would reduce capacity to only 70. We had been straightforward that our guest list was 80-90, and their website advertises up to 120 guests for a buffet or cocktail reception, which was our plan. I understand they don't do a ton of events in the winter, so I thought maybe they just didn't have a well-designed plan for colder months and we could find a way to work one out. But they refused to work with us to expand capacity beyond 70 guests AND made no concessions on price. I have no idea what they would have done had we moved forward and temperatures were too cold for a tent (leave our guests shivering? cut our guest list week-of? at the door?) -- I asked and and they couldn't answer. On top of it all, they made me feel like I was a problem for having these concerns. At the end of the day, I can't believe that a venue would expect clients to pay full price for half a venue and 40% decreased capacity, especially in a season they admit having little to no bookings. They clearly do not want business in their winter months, but will jerk you around for a month pretending they do.

Exceeded our (extremely high) expectations at every step, turn, and touchpoint!…read more We worked with the AMAZING Teddy and Sarah and from the start knew we were in the right place, space and best of hands. First of all, Firehouse is charming as all HECK. This isn't your drab hotel ballroom where partition walls, lighting rigs and bunches and bunches of flowers can barely start to cover the lack of character. This space has personality and soul, every last inch. Classic Chicago neighborhood setting, we didn't want to leave the beautiful courtyard space. Everything about the venue is built to make your guests feel at home, comfortable and intimate to the party. Did we mention the firepole?! Best entry ever for a groom to make. We can't recommend enough - Teddy and Sarah listened to all our thoughts/concerns/ideas and custom built a space and flow that complimented the night in every possible way.

Multiple attempts to contact this organization to hold an event have gone unanswered. The space…read moreseems to capable of holding many more events, but does not.

Madonna Birthday Celebration. Music, videos, retro clothes, drinks and empanadas! Fun vibe!read more

Great food and service Having dinner in the patio…read more Feel like you are in italy Pizza delicious made In wood burning oven Martini out of this world

Great location…read more Beautiful Spacious Immaculate Fun Great Food Best Service Last Wednesday, August 12 our family attended the 1 pm performance of "The Outsiders". Wonderful Play. Go see it of you can. We needed to find a good restaurant on our route back to Glenview. So glad we chose Zia's Social. Our table of 8 was seated on their beautiful Patio. The highlight of the experience wasn't just the excellent food and ambiance. Rosie, our server was The Star of the Show. She managed our orders for drinks and appetizers with perfect pacing and skill. Made Most Excellent recommendations for all at the table. Ages 12 to 76. Everything she did was done with a smile, skill, and great patience. When I asked if the Carbonara in a Jar was popular, she replied "Most popular"! I wasn't disappointed. It was the best I've ever had! We finished with 2 Rosie-recommend deserts and 8 spoons. The plates were passed around and wiped clean in no time at all. A really fun, satisfying meal made possible by a great Kitchen and Rosie's Most Excellent service. What could be better We'll be back to Zia's in the very near future Thanks, Rosie