Rogers Park Builders Group - Builder Newsletter

To RPBG Members, Colleagues and Friends:

New Rogers Park Business Steps Up;

Offering Big Assist to NBOA

This is the second RPBG newsletter in a row where our lead topic is about the Neighborhood Building Owner Alliance's 12th Annual Summer Soiree, held on Thursday, August 1. The event drew more than 500 attendees

More than a few of you will object to my repeat in choice in topics.

“Mike. The Summer Soiree is an NBOA event. Why are you cluttering the Rogers Park Builders Group newsletter with a second story about an event that another organization held – albeit a parent organization to the RPBG? Why aren’t you discussing Rogers Park real estate issues?”

My response to any of you detractors – “Chill out.”

In fact, there is a uniquely Rogers Park component to the story of the NBOA's 12th Annual Summer Soiree – one that puts Rogers Park and, in particular, a great Rogers Park business in the spotlight.

For the past several years, Loyola University Chicago has graciously hosted the NBOA’s big summer party. In 2023, the event was held in the West Quad under the wide open sky surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of the LUC campus.

At the end of each year, we quietly utter our thanks to the higher power – for sparing us rain. In truth, any rain contingency at LUC would have been inadequate for the crowds we expected.

This year, we approached the upcoming Soiree with the same concern – and blew it off, feeling assured that our “higher power” had us covered. There would be no rain.

But come Sunday, the weather outlook for the following Thursday looked dismal. The forecast predicted that rain showers, lightning and heavy winds were almost certainly coming with temperatures in the high 80s.

Was our trusted “higher power” going to let us down? Was our streak of “No Rain Soirees” going to hold? Would we need to consider another plan?)

VIEW SUMMER SOIREE SLIDESHOW

This is where the Rogers Park magic occurred. Just a few days earlier, while at Wintrust Bank Rogers Park, I bumped into a longtime friend, restauranteur Lenice Levy, owner of Good To Go Jamaican Cuisine on Howard Street in Evanston.

Lenice excitedly told me about Seven Star, the new event venue she had opened only three months earlier on “the Chicago side” of Howard Street, across from her existing restaurant.

“We can easily host well over 500 people at Seven Star," she told me.

On Sunday, knowing the expected weather condition, I called Lenice and requested a visit. Both our Event Chair, Michael Slater, and our caterer, Rich Levy, Butter & Vine Catering, showed up.

By Monday, seeing that the weather report looked even more ominous, we made the call.

"Move the event.”

We are thrilled that a brand new Rogers Park business stepped up to the challenge, offering NBOA a perfect setting for our event, attended by over 500 real estate professionals and guests.

We set up tents in the parking lot that provided us with an efficient and welcoming registration area; a full four sided bar easily addressed the needs of thirsty guests; and plenty of space for Butter & Vine Catering to lay out their delicious array of food – both buffet-style and passed hors d’oeuvres.

The DJ sounded great in this acoustically sound venue – and our guests were able to network and enjoy this tremendous gathering. Once we wrapped up, those of us bearing late night “hall passes" crossed the street for an After Party at the amazing roof top deck at Good to Go.

How wonderful that NBOA could support a brand new Rogers Park local business – and thanks to Lenice for helping us achieve such a great success.

Thanks to Lenice for being there for us. We wish you years of success as your entrepreneurship, purchasing a warehouse and transforming it into attractive functional event space is sure to pay off!

PIctured above - Michael Glasser and Lenice Levy, owner of Good to Go Jamaican Restaurant and Seven Star Venue event space, both on Howard Street in Evanston and in Chicago.

PHOTO OF THE MONTH

Sullivan High School alumni, Victoria Amandianeze, a rising Senior at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, discusses real estate lending with Anthony Hawthorne, Senior Loan Officer at Community Investment Corp (CIC), an event sponsor, at the 12th Annual NBOA Summer Soiree. Later that evening, the RPBG and Friends of Sullivan awarded Victoria with a special $500 stipend to assist her as she prepares to spend the next semester abroad in Valenciennes, France.

THANK YOU TO OUR NEWSLETTER SPONSOR

ALAN ERICKSON

Wholesale pricing supported by outstanding

design ideas and customer service!