Entourage
1301 American Lane
Schaumburg, IL 60173

ENTOURAGE, Schaumburg’s Premiere Restaurant is the ultimate place for all of your events. We specialize in business seminars, group luncheons, dinners, board meetings, birthday celebrations, retirement parties, anniversaries, weddings, baby showers and much much more!

With our teams expertise and our state of the art private dining areas, we can specifically create any type of event that best suits your needs. Our exceptional service combined with our eclectic, exhilarating ambiance will be the perfect location for your next event!

Our most Important Target Market is at Entourage?

Business seminars, corporate events, family reunions and gatherings, company holiday parties, group luncheons, dinners, board meetings, birthday celebrations, retirement parties, anniversaries, weddings, baby showers and much much more!

Entourage on American Lane is also perfect for:

Anniversary
Bachelor/Bachelorette
Bar/Bat Mitzvahs
Birthday Party
Bridal Shower
Company Meetings
Conventions/Conferences
Corporate Events
Fund Raiser
Graduation Party
Group Travel
High Schools
Non Profit Events
Private Party
Retirement Party
Reunions
Weddings

Visit our listing on Hereschicago.com and tell us Hereschicago.com sent you!

Hereschicago.com features all of Chicago’s best Chicago restaurants for your upcoming holiday party. Whether you are seeking Chicago restaurants with indoor and outdoor rooftops venues and spaces for your next friends gathering, bachelor/bachelorette party, birthday party, anniversary, company party, corporate event, wedding reception, rehearsal dinner, wedding, corporate holiday party and more. Great for groups, business meetings, client entertaining, private events and private dining.

View From The Top: Indoor and Outdoor Rooftop Venues

Visitors and locals to Chicago will agree about this fact: The city and surrounding communities are flat as the proverbial pancake. The prairie landscape shouldn’t hold back those who have lofty ideas for holding a party or other special event. In this sea-level, altitude-challenged metropolis, there are places that offer a view from the top.

Private clubs, like the Metropolitan Club in the Sears – make that – Willis Tower and the University Club on Monroe Street at Michigan Avenue, offer unparalleled views, facilities, cuisine and service. But these and others only allow members and guests the privilege of hosting events. Here are some venues that will give you and your guests a window to the world that is Chicago.

One private club does open its doors to non-members: The Mid-America Club on the 80th floor of the Aon Center at 200 E. Randolph St. Founded more than 40 years ago, the club boasts something others can’t match: A 360-degree view of the Chicago skyline and lakefront parks and attractions. Planners can host small receptions for 20 guests, a seated banquet for more than 600, or reception for 1,000. The club offers various private rooms and an expandable ballroom in its more than 8,000 square feet.

Perhaps the hottest new sky-high venue to come on line recently is the aptly-named ROOF, the lounge and party space taking up the 27th floor of the Wit Hotel at 201 N. State St. Lines to visit the high-rise venue stretched 30-plus deep this summer to make the scene at ROOF’s indoor and outdoor areas. Reserve this party location and have all 7,000 square feet for you and your guests. They’ll enjoy handcrafted drinks, food from an Italian-themed small plate menu and views of the Chicago River and beyond. ROOF will accommodate up to 150. Contact theWit Hotel

Long-time Chicagoans know the “grand dame” of vertical venues is the Signature Room at the 95th in the John Hancock Center, 875 N. Michigan Av. Known for fine food, romantic dinners, floor-to-ceiling windows and views that can bring in three surrounding states, the Signature Room also can be reserved for a wide range of events, from rehearsal dinners, bridal showers and weddings to themed parties, receptions and corporate dinners.

Want someplace a little more “down-to-earth?” Here are three locations that are, indeed, up on the roof, only a lot closer to the pavement than the aforementioned.

A stalwart on the Greek Town dining circuit, Pegasus at 130 S. Halsted St. opens its Veranda, a second-level outdoor space between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Guests can dine on Greek tapas-style cuisine and take in awesome views of the Chicago skyline. The space can be reserved for 20 to 80 people, depending on the day of the week.

The Rock Bottom Brewery anchors the southwest corner of Grand Avenue and State Streets. Along with various traditional style indoor party rooms, this brewery and casual restaurant offers a rooftop deck during summer months. The views include surrounding office buildings, but Rock Bottom is perhaps the only outdoor venue of its kind within the downtown area. Contact Rock Bottom Brewery

Out in west suburban Oak Park, the Avenue Ale House, 25 S. Oak Park Av., is a popular, spacious year-round restaurant and lounge for after work drinks, a great “pub” menu, live music and catching sports on huge plasma TVs. When the weather warms up, patrons often head upstairs to the only outdoor rooftop deck in the west suburbs. The views aren’t great, but the casual atmosphere, great food and drink make the Ale House a great option.

Visit our directory for a list of all of Chicago’s best indoor and outdoor rooftop venues and spaces for your next friends gathering, bachelor/bachelorette party, birthday party, anniversary, company party, corporate event, wedding reception, rehearsal dinner, wedding, holiday party and more.

The Private Dining Rooms of Fulton’s on the River offers a number of unique rooms for you to choose from for your next private event. The spectacular location serves as an excellent backdrop for social and corporate events. In the heart of Chicago, The Private Dining Rooms of Fulton’s on the River unites the finest in classic and contemporary dining. Located on the east bank of the Chicago River with a spectacular view of the skyline, it’s the prime location for your next private event. Whether you’re hosting a wedding or a corporate function, we can accommodate 10 – 1,500 guests with grace and ease. Select one of our seven dining spaces to create your perfect party.

Fulton’s on the River, located on the Chicago River with views of downtown, offers the best of both worlds. A classic seafood and steak house, with an unparalleled devotion to procuring nothing but the highest quality ingredients. Quality service and an extensive wine and cocktail selection provide a
great place to dine, relax and celebrate!

Our Distinctive Event Areas Seated or Reception
330
500

The Bridge House Room also offers pristine views of the river.
125
175

A semi-private space with a lovely view, the Main Branch Room is elegantly lined with windows overlooking the water and city skyline.
60
100

If your dream is an outdoor affair, plan your party on the Veranda and enjoy the open air.
80
300

In the west end of the building, also at river level, sits the exclusive Falling Waters Room.
125
175

The Murdoch Lounge, with plush design and relaxed atmosphere, provides the perfect atmosphere for a casual event or cocktail party.
75
150

For an intimate affair, have your guests dine among the extraordinary vintage selections of Fulton’s on the River in The Wine Room.
10
N/A

For larger-than-life events, book the entire restaurant.
1000
1500

Total Capacity of Venue:
1500

Private or Semi Private Space Available:
Yes

Unique views?
The Chicago River

Contact Fulton’s on the River steakhouse for your next private dining function. ”Tell em Hereschicago.com sent you”

For a complete list of Chicago Steak Restaurants with Private Dining, visit our directory at Hereschicago.com

Certainly any hotel claiming a Magnificent Mile address should live up to its name. And after a $36 million total renovation, the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile achieves exactly that. Drawing from the context of the city itself – hustle and bustle balanced by the calming effects of natural elements – this newly transformed hotel offers a stunningly stylish, energetic and contemporary vibe. Here, business and entertainment intersect in a multidimensional setting that inspires guests to engage, relax, retreat, work and play.

Recently transformed public space introduces a spectacular multifunctional lobby that reinvents the way guests socialize, work and relax. All of our meeting space, located on the 5th, 6th and 7th floors has been masterfully redefined to accommodate 21st century meeting needs. Additional multifunctional meeting space has also been added to the 4th floor, giving this premier Chicago meeting site a total of 65,000 square feet of event space. New dining concepts include a signature restaurant offering a contemporary décor and menu and a new lobby bar that surrounds a torch-like illuminated sculpture – the new iconic symbol of the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile.

The Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile is a Planner Preferred Meeting Space on Hereschicago.com, Chicago’s Meetings and Events Resource Guide.

Chicago Event Production Services

To round out your event, Chicago Event Production Suppliers offers complete production services to keep your audience engaged and to make your event memorable. As part of Chicago’s Planner Preferred production services, they offer the following production services in Chicago:

Develop concepts and ideas
Write scripts and speeches
Handle staging and room decor
Coordinate lighting, sound, video projection, and technical support
Design and execute speaker support slides, multi-image productions, film, and videotape
Coordinate live business theater incorporating performers, music, original lyrics, choreography, and special staging and effects
Speech coaching, media training, and progressive learning programs
Provide access to effective and economical teleconferencing and distribution systems

Visit Hereschicago.com, Chicago’s Directory of all Chicago Event Production Companies

Chicago Watercraft small boat custom cruises for northerly island concerts, bachelorette parties, corporate events, unique client outings, and more.  10 - 12 people on your own boat on Lake Michigan!

Enjoy a Northerly Island concert and hear a great show surrounded by all your conveniences of your CW party boat! It’s like Ravinia on the water. Why spend $100+ on tickets, parking, drinks? Listen to Your favorite music on the lake with spectacular views. Charter a CW party boat/yacht; use our caterer or BYO food and beverage. Spilt costs!

Visit Chicago Watercraft and ask for Captain Vernon Patrick.  Tell em Hereschicago.com sent you!

Visit Hereschicago.com for a complete list of Chicago’s best Wrigley rooftops for your next company outing, friends get together, bachelorette party, or corporate event. Wrigley rooftops are one of the best networking venues in Chicago. It’s truly a unique and cost effective way to bring friends or clients together for one of Chicago’s most memorable corporate activities during the summer.

Prior to or after the game, book your group space at Cubby Bear or Vine’s on Clark. Both Wrigleyville venues are across the street from Wrigley Field and have group space for small and large groups!

Wrigley Rooftops Video produced by

Cooking is an Art. We Make It a Party.

A unique culinary combination of a hands-on cooking experience and a pampered dinner party, Bespoke Cuisine’s Cooking Parties are a big hit with epicureans and beginners alike.

Chefs from the Bespoke team lead groups through preparing a four-course meal. After the lesson, participants retreat to the loft-like dining room and enjoy being served the meal they created.

All through the lesson and meal, the team imparts tips, facts, and guidance about the food, methods and preparations used. It’s a fantastic opportunity to ask the experts and to learn the tricks of the trade.

Parties are held at Bespoke Cuisine’s location on Restaurant Row where clients have the opportunity to learn in a working commercial kitchen and then retire to the gracious dining room. In warm weather, our doors open onto Randolph Street for a wonderful city dining experience.
 
PRIVATE COOKING PARTIES in Chicago with Bespoke Cuisine - Our signature cooking parties are private social or corporate events, and are popular for for:

Chicago corporate team-building events
Chicago birthday parties & anniversaries
Chicago girls’ night out
Chicago showers and bachelorette parties
Chicago rehearsal dinners
Chicago group dinner parties

Cooking Party Menus: Click here for our Cooking Party Information & Menus. To have this information emailed or faxed to you, or to discuss a customized menu, please contact us.

Minimum/Maximum # of Guests: Minimum: 15 persons (20pp in December); Maximum: 35-40 persons depending on menu.

Pricing: $100 per person - includes professional hands-on instruction, 4-course meal, recipe packet, mini spice box, and soft drinks. Pricing for customized menus, including those with a competition component, will be slightly higher. Does not include food tax or gratuities.

Alcoholic Beverages: Bespoke Cuisine is BYOB. We would be happy to suggest wines, beers or other drinks to accompany your menu. Binnys and Kafka Wine Co. are two vendors who will deliver your order to Bespoke for a $10 fee so we can pre-chill your selections and have your beverages set up when you and your guests arrive. Kafka offers 15% off your entire order when you mention Bespoke!

Take aways: Each person leaves with a menu/recipe packet and a customized tin spice box.

Attire: We suggest wearing comfortable clothing and shoes. Aprons are provided to wear during the event.

Dates/Times: Cooking Parties are about 3-1/2 hours long and are held anytime in the afternoon or evening. Most parties start at 6:30pm and end at 10:00pm.

Other Services/Options:

“iron chef”-style competition
wine pairings or an accompanying professional wine tasting
take-home apron (can include personalization with notice)
customized menus

For more information and to contact Bespoke Cuisine for your next Chicago corporate team-building events, Chicago birthday parties & anniversaries, Chicago girls’ night out, Chicago showers and bachelorette parties, Chicago rehearsal dinners, Chicago group dinner parties

Visit our Bespoke Cuisine details page on Hereschicago.com, Chicago’s group event planners resoure directory.

Contact Chicago Indoor Racing if you are seeking great suburban meeting space, fun Chicago Corporate Activities, Buffalo Grove Meeting Venues, North West suburban conference space or a West suburban meeting venue for your next conference or Chicago suburban sales meeting, fun things to do in Chicagoland, or Chicago team building.

Each event at Chicago Indoor Racing is customized by one of their group coordinators. They will assist you in all the finer details of your event and can help you achieve all of your goals, no matter how simple or complicated. Chicago Indoor Racing Buffalo Grove or Chicago Indoor Racing Addison can work with groups of six to groups of 600 or more. Chicago Indoor Racing’s group event space features the latest in Audio Visual capabilities, including complimentary LCD projectors with pull down screens, as well as flip charts.

Chicago Indoor Racing in Addison | NOW OPENED!

Our new 105,000 square foot location in Addison features two new tracks and a variety of state of the art meeting spaces & entertainment concepts, including CyberSport. Groups events can be booked by calling Alisa Peters at Chicago Indoor Racing; individual walk-ins and same day reservations are happily accepted. Corporate and Group Events.

Five Meeting Rooms featuring the latest in Audio Visual Technology and wireless Internet access.

(The entire facility is a “hot-spot”)

Stewart’s Bar and Grille, a full service Restaurant and Bar, features a large array of cuisine sure to delight any palate! After the Race each location features a full service restaurant with a variety of dining options for individuals and groups of all sizes. They also feature a multitude of alternative entertainment that can be enjoyed before and after racing or dining.

Click here to email or call Alisa Peters at Chicago Indoor Racing for either location (Buffalo Grove or Addison) and tell her Hereschicago.com sent you!

Threats of federal regulation and sensational coverage are creating a paralyzing environment where companies across the country are canceling meetings and events for legitimate business purposes.

After three strong years, Chicago’s downtown hotels are facing tougher times as businesses cut travel budgets and tourists stay home. Because more businesses and groups are canceling meetings at hotels or spending less on food and drink, hotel owners are looking for ways to cut costs.

Business-related travel – including meetings, events and incentives – is a vital part of our national economy and essential to sustaining well-paying American jobs, the health of large and small businesses and the solvency of public services supported by federal, state and local tax-revenue. Broadly, business travel creates 2.4 million jobs, injects more than $240 billion into the national economy annually and generates $39 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue.

Specifically, meetings and events:

Create 1 million jobs to the American workforce in local communities – from big cities to small towns – across the United States.

Many of these jobs support working families in the hospitality and food service industries.

Generate $27 billion in wages for hardworking Americans that are critical to local economies across
the United States, and can play a critical role in our nation’s economic recovery.

Provide $16 billion in tax revenue at the federal, state and local level.

Contribute $101 billion in spending to the U.S. economy.

Support over 200 local convention centers around the county

Are responsible for nearly 15 percent of all travel in the United States.

When businesses cancel productive meetings and events, the American worker and local communities from coast-to-coast are the unintended victims.

Without the jobs generated by meetings, events and incentive travel, the current unemployment rate of 7.6 percent would rise to 8.2 percent and cost the average American household an additional $136 in annual taxes.

Critics have mislabeled many meetings and events as unnecessary and frivolous – causing companies that have received federal government support and many that have not – to cancel planned and future activities.
Whether a company has received emergency government lending or not, its inclination is to avoid the prospect of being ridiculed like AIG, Wells Fargo and others.

No region of the country is immune to the economic impact of canceled meetings, events and incentive programs. American workers and local communities pay the price as meetings, events and incentives decline.

The U.S. Labor Department reported a loss of nearly 200,000 travel related jobs in 2008 and Department of Commerce data predicts a loss of an additional 247,000 travel-generated jobs in 2009.

The meetings and events component of business travel is responsible for nearly 15 percent of all travel in the United States, drives $101 billion in spending, generates one million jobs and creates $16 billion in tax revenue at the federal, state and local levels.

Without the one million jobs generated by meeting and event travel, the unemployment rate in the United States would jump from 7.6 percent to 8.2 percent.

As meetings and events decline, local communities – nearly all of whom are dependent on visitor taxes – struggle to pay for essential services such as education, public safety and social services.

Business travel and events are a smart and cost effective way to retain and develop employee talent, generate ideas and share knowledge that drives future business growth.

Meetings, events and incentives are essential tools for companies to strengthen business relationships; align and educate employees and customers; and reward business performance. Members of Congress share this practice when convening their annual retreats at resorts outside Washington, DC

Incentive programs are two to three times more effective than cash at motivating employee performance. Companies can spend less on incentive travel than on cash compensation to achieve exceptional productivity from employees.

The recipients of incentive travel programs are typically hardworking middle class Americans who have earned trips for their exceptional performance.

According to a recent survey of Fortune 1000 Chief Marketing Officers, meetings and events provide the highest return on investment of any marketing channel.

Companies using taxpayer dollars must abide by best practices for meetings, events and incentives.

Companies that have received emergency government lending have an obligation to operate in a transparent and accountable fashion.

The travel community has addressed an urgent public need by developing clear, workable guidelines designed to ensure responsible business travel practices within companies that have received emergency government lending.

Additional punitive policies to limit meetings, events and incentive travel will unite business, labor and local government leaders in opposition.

The demand for face to face meetings is strong and the importance of having them is greater than ever in our history.  For example, within one week of sending the invitation for our Here’s Chicago Meetings and Hospitality St. Pat’s BASH event taking place on March 2, 2009 we are at capacity with the most meeting and event professionals registered in the history of this event with over 400 registered attendees and another 100 on the waiting list. 

“Business, Meetings and Incentive Programs are what built this economy” and “Our industry is being punished for the mistakes of a few”

“In Obama’s defense, I don’t believe he knows that the meetings industry contributes to “mainstreet”, the exact market he is trying to help. Bus boys, waiters, bellman, sedan drivers, etc.” says Jim Grillo, CMP of Hereschicago.com. 

Meetings, conventions, exhibitions, and incentive travel generated $122.3 billion in direct spending in the United States last year, according to the Convention Industry Council’s Economic Impact Study, released in September. Corporate meetings and events comprised one-third of that, or $40.3 billion; association events accounted for the rest.”

The industry employs 1.7 million people on a full-time basis, and is the 29th-largest contributor to the country’s gross national product.

Looking at types of meetings, conventions and exhibitions account for $67.9 billion, or 55.5 percent, of the total direct spending pie. Corporate and association meetings generated $48.1 billion in spending, or 39.4 percent of the total, while incentive travel made up the remaining 5.1 percent, generating $6.2 billion in spending. (Conventions and exhibitions are defined as events where exhibitions make up the largest component of the meeting, while meetings have a larger meetings component.)

The largest share of the convention and exhibition dollar, 35 percent, is spent in hotels. The rest is widely distributed throughout local economies, with 24 percent spent on air transportation, 14 percent in restaurants, and 12 percent on business services.
 
It is our responsibility today to communicate the positive messages from our industry and how we all directly contribute to the future growth of our economy.
 
Let’s make history together,
 
Jim Grillo, CMP
President
Hereschicago.com
Chicago’s Meetings and Events Resource Directory
 
Emmy Award Winner, Alternate Media/News 2008
Hall of Fame Supplier, Illinois Meetings & Events 2008
President, Meeting Professionals Internatio, nal Chicago 2003-2004
President, Hospitality, Sales & Marketing Assn of Ill. 2001-2004
Committee, Meeting Professionals International 2004-2008
Mentor/Ambassador, Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau, 2000-2002
Member, MPI International Student Advisory Council 2008-2009
 
For a P.R. Toolkit, visit the U.S. Travel Association (USTOA)