Closing April 28th, 2024

Redline VR Closing Announcement: 

A message from owner Aaron Sawyer

After 5 years in business, due to circumstances beyond our control, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors at the end of April 2024. We have loved this business. We have enjoyed serving you and celebrating your birthdays, weddings, recitals, dancing, drag, wrestling, Shakespeare, and even filmed comedy specials- sometimes all in the same weekend! We are truly devastated it’s all coming to an end, and we wish that circumstances were different.  

Why are we closing? Redline VR’s gross income doubled from 2021 to 2023 almost reaching one million annually (so close!); but scheduled increases in payroll, property tax, rent, insurance, and debt payments kept up with (and often exceeded) our growth. We will not be able to afford the mandatory leasehold improvements required by the City of Chicago to keep our license. Because we cannot guarantee that we will be open for your important events, we cannot responsibly book them; therefore, we must close. 

As we do our best to communicate our closing to the public and wrap things up with dignity, we know our staff and customers will have a mix of feelings. Some people will be sad and feel a sense of loss that The Raven Room will not be a part of the community and their lives. Some people will be upset with us because their event is being canceled, or they may have an old voucher that they have yet to use. We are accepting vouchers until April 28th and will be using our remaining funds to refund customer deposits as much as possible after paying staff. We are closing with debt remaining on the business and face the real threat of being forced into personal bankruptcy. 

I am thankful for the support of my wife and two young children during this process. I’m eager to spend some time with them and pull our family above the poverty line for the first time in over five years. I’m grateful for my friends and staff who supported the vision selflessly and heroically. I’m excited to move back to my home state and hope to revive the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival which closed during the pandemic. 

Our bumpy tale!

Redline VR was formed by Aaron Sawyer and Jonathon Irons on January 1st, 2018. Its cutting-edge virtual reality concept was dulled by city processes that delayed opening by eighteen months and tripled start-up costs. Predatory credit cards kept us fighting through an inane number of obstacles, but by August of 2019 funds had run out. We were forced to make a decision: open without the license, or walk away bankrupt and disheartened. We eventually got our licenses, hit our numbers, and were prepared to spend the next three years largely forgoing salary while we paid off high-interest debts.

When the pandemic hit in March of 2020, Redline VR lost all staff after being passed over for the grants that kept similar businesses afloat. The landlord served an eviction notice to the business in June of 2020, but Aaron- now the sole owner- worked 7 days a week; opening at 7am for VR Fitness classes, renting desks as a shared office space until 5pm, and then staying alone to rent VR headsets for home use, selling cocktails to go, and hosting single family “pod” parties until closing at 11pm. An SBA loan was secured in lieu of grants. Debts increased to a five year repayment plan. Hope remained.

In mid-2021 The Raven Room began as an audacious and optimistic lease expansion that could allow the good times to pay for the bad. We thought the pandemic was over as business was booming. Instead, the pandemic continued, and we suffered biblical setbacks like flooding, leaks, plague, riots, burglaries, and a snow-laden roof almost collapsing on a young girl’s birthday party. It was a tremendously difficult year. The debts grew.

Thank you!

I would like to include a celebration of some of the successes and memories made through the years. In 2022-2024 we welcomed three tremendous Resident Companies that I would like to mention: Olde School Shakespeare Collective, Counterfeit Combat, and Nonsense Theatre. We became the ultimate “nerd bar” featuring weekly groups playing Magic the Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, skeeball, disc golf, trivia, and more.  

Special thanks to Jay & Dee Sawyer, Brindin Sawyer, Jonathon Irons, Ryan Reynolds, Spencer Duncan, JW Basilo, Caroline Rigby, Tuxford Turner, Henry Hartman, and the amazing John Ross Wilson.

Arsenal FC- open every game!

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Arsenal FC- open every game! 〰️

Formerly Redline VR, The Raven Room is an entertainment venue featuring drag artists, comedy, karaoke, and community events.

We offer a fully-stocked bar, pop-up events, skeeball, and virtual reality entertainment.

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Read about past customer experiences

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RedlineVR is recommended by TimeOut Magazine, CNBC, WGN9, the Chicago Tribune, MSN, and the Daily Herald as one of the best things to do in Chicago.