Gallery Bistro

12/01/09

Anger Does not describe the pain

by RozDez at Citysearch

I was absolutely estatic when I finally found the perfect place for my fiance's 40th birthday party. It turns out that this place was far from it. I paid this guy, Charles for renting his establishment once he told me of everything my guests and I would be allowed to do. He offered me $615 flat rate. this included the DJ, the casino room, and all the ammenities that came with it. Thinking that this was a good deal, I jumped at the opportunity. The day of the party, I had arrived one hour after the guests. They were mostly in a small dimly lit champaine room that was cold and dreary. He played old music from bootleg cd's and his bartendar/janitor/whatever over-charged on drinks. Not to mention.....I paid an extra $90 on punch because everyone at the party did not drink alcohol. He would not allow for my fiance's aunt to bring in her punch bowl. Instead, he poured this cheap, store-brand punch into small cups and set out only a small few. We had to constantley ask him to bring out more and he grew aggrivated from that. He was and is a very rude con artist. Please take my advice.......DO NOT EVER, EVER, EVER RENT FROM THIS MAN NAMED CHARLES!!

• Pros: None
• Cons: Everything

11/05/09

Worst place EVER!! A.K.A. Expressions Jazz Cafe

by Scorpio Queen at Citysearch

We had our wedding reception at this place. Like the other reviews the man comes across professional in the beginning and then once final payment is made you meet version 2. When I went to look at the place I met a d.j. who was there and he gave me a quote for his service. The owner quoted a priced for the entire day and if we wanted he could even do the catering. Thank goodness we didnt. Well the morning of the wedding the doors were not open, had to track him down, then he had his raggedy GRAND piano in the room that as we were trying to decorate and bumped into it, the legs gave way and it came crashing to the floor! Not so grand huh! Well as the guests arrived guess what? Magically the dj, bartender (with the overpriced drinks), mc, and owner were all one in the same! When confronted he looked dumbfounded. Well we took him to court, go check the records in Dekalb County, and won our case. He stood before the judge and said that he had never promised me a d.j. although I had the paperwork to prove it was included with the additional cost of the place. Before we could get the money he took his money out the bank and changed the name of the place to what it is today. As I told him then, "his business would never prosper by doing people bad" and from what I have read things have not changed. Please save yourself the grief and time and look elsewhere, you will be glad that you did!

• Pros: Location
• Cons: Owner brings bad business to Decatur..

07/04/09

Do Not Rent This Place

by Gillens at Citysearch

First of all, am upset because prior to renting this place I asked him if anyone else had rented the day of our event and he told me no. Then the day of our event I found out not only did one other event but two. So we had our event that was suppose to be 150 people, a 40th b-day party, and a wedding on the dance floor. Now if that's not over booking I don't know what is. He doesn't allow you to bring in beverages but he wants to charge you a $1.00 a cup for some fruit juice. He's a very Greedy man and he ruined my reception and I hope he know that i will never use him again.

• Pros: Could be a good spot
• Cons: Need a new owner

12/01/08

UPSET PATRON!!! (Note: This is an event venue, not a restaurant)

by starr75 at Citysearch

Please "BEWARE" of renting this place for any of your special events.

The owner appears to be very business-like and ready to please when

seeking to get information about his venue and when making plans to

use his facilities. However, this is all until you pay the rental fee

in full, and get ready to prep the place for your event. On the day

of our event, the grounds around the building were not cleaned up as

agreed upon and trash was visible everywhere! In addition to that,

access to some of the rooms that were to be used for the event had

been locked off, and a section of the room that he said we had access

to had even been roped off. All of this was thrown at us on the day of

the event when getting ready to prep it for the party!!! There were

even framed art pictures (about 20 or more) on the floor leaning

against a wall in a sitting area and they were blocking access to

seating at tables. When he was asked if the pictures would be moved

his response was "no"! And they weren"t!! As a result of seeing us

trying to make room by moving some of the tables around, he,in haste,

moved the tables and chairs around to allow room for pulling the

chairs out from the tables, but the pictures remained leaning against

the wall on the floor in clear view. Upset doesn't begin to describe our feelings. This was

a very special event and the hostess was so hurt and distraught, she

could only cry after being so excited in the days leading up to it to

receiving her guest and having a good time. THIS GUY ONLY CARES ABOUT

GETTING YOUR MONEY AND MAKING EVEN MORE MONEY OFF OF YOUR GUEST AT HIS

CASH BARS WHERE DRINKS ARE HIGHLY PRICED. VERY, VERY, VERY, RUDE!!!!!

WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS VENUE AT ALL!!

• Pros: This place can be a very nice venue spot if it was owned and ran by someone with integrity!!
• Cons: Rude owner; venue space agreement not granted, trash outside surrounding building