Club Entourage in Norfolk, VA Gives Bigoted V.I.P. Treatment

Norfolk, Va., - January 25th, I chose nightclub Entourage for my Friday night scene. Scoring a set of V.I.P. tickets, I took an inside look at the after-hours socialites in their scene.

V.I.P. tickets, which are supposed to mean Very Important Person in club lingo, usually mean differences in treatment. Mainly I witnessed my tickets being completely ignored. It was appalling.

The bouncers gave a no-pass-go response to avoiding the line even toting the V.I.P. tickets and required a dress code tax on my dates 'Tims.' It was later told to me the 'tax' went straight into the bouncers pocket. But there were some perks...kind of.

From the sleek bar to the candle-lit booths, the Entourage decorum was inviting. A passé, silhouetted, woman dancing on multiple small flat-screen televisions, the only comfort was in that the music was not outdated.

Though the D.J.'s attention was impossible to obtain, the floor was not crowded at all. The dance floor resembled an ice-rink in that at 10:30 p.m., on a Friday, it was empty. Empty, in the sense that there was not one person on the floor. This is a real problem for a club. Money is made mainly by the bars. If the dancers are not dancing, then no one becomes thirsty. If no one is thirsty then no one is buying drinks from the bar.

The bar was staffed with two bartenders that couldn't keep up with the demand as I waited 20 minutes to make a 3-drink order. The poorly mixed drinks aside, the attendance was clearly 'members only', consisting of mainly African-Americans.

The club as a whole was thick with patrons giving steady looks of discontent at a Caucasian Entourage presence. Did I mention the refusal of a V.I.P. booth?

I quickly realized that the party needed to be moved when my 3-drink tab came back at 40.00.

While the Entourage may have entertained the likes of many a celebrity, I am sure that this was a paid appearance as the environment does not seem to be fitting a socialite of celebrity status. There are many places that would cater the same 'high end' drink selection and better accommodations for V.I.P.
members.