We've been living in Aurora for five years now, and are getting to the point where we're digging pretty deep for finding new places to go (causing a major hit in my Yelp review writing activity). One night when looking for a place we've never been, the Phoenix Club popped up tagged as "Nightlife" only a few blocks from my house. I was sure this was some kind of mistake, as there couldn't possibly be a bar in the middle of my neighborhood that I never knew about.
I called, talked to Greg (a bartender) who invited us to come down to check it out, and we joined that night. Since then, we have become total regulars around the Phoenix Club and spend an absurd amount of time there. The Phoenix Club served as our gateway to a bunch of other local clubs, which I'm also reviewing on Yelp, so check our my profile if you're into that kind of thing. These clubs all work similar, but have small differences.
HOW TO JOIN: You need to fill out a membership form and have two full, non-spouse, members in good standing sign for you. This is pretty easy, we had a bartender and a person sitting at the bar both willing to sign for us. Dues are $60 a year, and to get your key card and membership number you need to attend a general member meeting which is held on a Wednesday at 7:00. (The third Wednesday, I believe, but this is posted everywhere.)
FOOD AND DRINK: The Phoenix Club has a full bar, with several beers *and* a root beer on draft, along with bottles of every common beer. Pizza, appetizers (various fried foods), and ice cream are always available. A full menu is available during lunch hours (11:30 to 1:30 Monday through Saturday) and both Wednesday and Thursday from 4:00 to 8:30. Tuesdays have a rotating special, like a taco buffet, chicken buffet, meatloaf, etc, from 5:30 to 7:30. On some Tuesdays the full menu is also available. A fish and steak fry is held on Fridays from 6:00 to 8:00, where you can get probably the biggest/cheapest steak in town. On Mondays with Bingo, a food special (typically something simple, like sloppy joes) is served at 6:00.
EVENTS: Bingo is held on most Mondays and is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. This is a good time to check out the club, and find people to sign for you. When it's nice out, they do outdoor bowling which is incredibly fun and comes with unlimited draft beer. There's something that's accompanies most sports games and holidays, and prior to most Bears games there's tailgating in the parking lot. Their meat raffle ahead of Thanksgiving is also the best one in the Aurora area.
GAMBLING: The Phoenix Club has slot machines, which apparently limits the amount of other shenanigans they can do there. Regardless, there's a daily drawing where $1 is added each day, and a random member number is drawn. If you were at the club the day before and signed in, you win that cash. (As of this writing the prize is around $450ish, as this is pretty hard to win.) On Wednesdays at 8:00, there's a series of 10 individual drawings for $500 each. You must be present to win, and the tenth drawing goes until there's a winner. They do a bingo ball drawing on Fridays, where you buy a bingo ball for $5 (I believe), and if they draw your ball you win. You do not need to be present for this. Most days when the club is busy there's also a 50/50 in the evening, along with random drawings for things like jerseys and similar.
CLUB FACILITIES: The Phoenix Club has a large bar room, with a bunch of TVs, a huge dining area with TVs and a projector, a game room with a pool table and a few arcades, and a large basement that can be rented. There's also a decent sized outdoor patio, but if you don't smoke it's not a great place to hang out.
WHY WE LIKE IT: Prices on everything are great, and the drinks are STRONG. The bartenders here do not mess around. Their menu is basic, but absolutely everything is good, and they're really flexible when it comes to customizing menu items regardless of how weird what you want is. (My favorite non-menu thing is ordering a rueben wrap but get it with italian beef instead of corned beef.) The club also feels like it's the perfect size, in that it's not so tiny you feel weird being there not knowing anyone but it's also not so huge you're just lost in the shuffle. read more
