I had visited this place after it first opened in the former Softcore spot (I hearted Softcore--Sue always remembered how much I liked Kitchen Orange in black or gray) and it seemed decent, although the selection was a bit paltry for women (some of the brands I remember: Triple 5 Soul, Caffeine, Loop NYC, Puma). They had some calendars laying around that mentioned that they also promote a few club nights around town, which I thought was a cool thing to do, and an interesting crossover (although I can't vouch for the quality of their nights).
So I was out dropping off fliers today along Milwaukee Ave in Wicker Park and stopped into Another Level. Right as I walked in the door I was greeted by a short-ish Asian man with an eyebrow piercing who asked to see my fliers. I dutifully handed over the two sets of fliers I brought and told him a bit about the night, assuming he was interested in attending or at least curious about what it was. He scans it and then says something like "I can't let you put these fliers here--Sonotheque didn't accommodate me. I'm in the industry, they should have."
Taken aback somewhat, I took back my fliers from him and then mentioned that there were other fliers from Sonotheque on the table. He then picked up all of them, handed them to me and asked me to leave (even though I wasn't the one who put them there!). I told him I wasn't from the club--I was just a promoter. And then he told me that it didn't matter--I didn't need to leave my fliers there. So on my way out I said, "Well, then I don't need to shop here," to which he replied "Yeah, you wouldn't shop here anyway."
What?? In fact, if this guy hadn't pulled the petty attitude card, I'd probably be back in the next few weeks to find some nice new shirts for spring (and fashion is probably the highest non-essential thing I on which spend my disposable income). There's absolutely no way that'll ever happen now. Untitled on North and Belmont Army further down the street carry many of the same brands, with a better selection and less asshole-ery. And that's why those stores are getting my business from now on and not Another Level of Jerkitude.
I've never had any store owner confront me like this about leaving fliers (and they have a table by the door with fliers from many different promoters). I'm completely disappointed in this store. Promoting electronic music events and lifestyles in an rock-centric town like Chicago is hard enough--it just makes it worse when a store employee acts immaturely and ruins it for everyone. read more