After opening dates have come and gone, the highly anticipated The Matrix Club entertainment venue in Naperville is finally in operation.
The 75,000-square-foot venue will be able to host banquets, conventions, weddings, parties, live music and concerts, theatrical performances and other events, and will also be home to a restaurant, bar, art gallery and recording studio, among other things.
Madan Kulkarni says that this building, located in the old Sam’s Club building at 808 S. Route 59, will serve as a multicultural building owner, and that it will bring large groups of people together for music and art.
“Music is a global language that allows us to communicate from country to country,” Kulkarni said. “We always had a desire to provide a platform and show that could be brought together.”
The 4,500 square meter restaurant of the club, The Matrix Room, opens on Friday, September 8. The venue will feature international farm-to-table meals spanning the regional spectrum, from Southeast Asia to the Napa Valley to Italy, said Cherryl Marcey, the venue’s event sales and marketing manager.
There will also be a music hall and fusion bar called Meg’s Lounge, named after Kulkarni’s daughter, Meghna, who died unexpectedly last year.
“He was an integral part of our team and inspired Madan and some of us here, so we wanted him to be a part of this concept,” said Marcey.
The Dhrishti Center for the Performing Arts includes an art gallery, a 250-seat theater, dance and music schools, and a yoga studio to open on September 18. Available to rent an audio lab, including a recording studio, where people can create their own podcasts and shows.
Kulkarni said that they plan to appeal to a global community by bringing together international pop artists with mainstream musicians for concerts that showcase a wide range of music.
“We’ll be bringing people from the three state areas to eat and stay at our hotels,” he said. “This promotes music and also does a lot for our local economy.”
They are already considering hosting artists from Mandan, South Asia, Greece and Poland.
The club faced many delays after initially scheduled to open its doors in December 2022. Several local schools, including Neuqua Valley in Naperville and Metea Valley in Aurora, had to move their proms this spring as construction was incomplete.
Kulkarni said that some of the problems were caused by the many unexpected supply chain problems after the Kovid-19 outbreak, which caused delays in construction.
Marcey said all schools that want to hold their proms here this year are rebooking their proms for 2024 and 2025.
“We have established good relations with the administrators of these schools and they are very happy to host their events,” he said.
The club has already hosted several large gatherings, including a 350-person Indian pre-wedding party and the Indian Prairie School District 204 event with over 2,000 educators; For the first time in more than 10 years, they gathered all district educators under one roof. Authorities said:
Annual events, including the Naperville Woman’s Club Witches Night Out and the Edward Foundation’s Big Gig: Jazzin’ It Up premiere, are being booked at the Matrix Club this year.
“The fact that priority charities come here to organize events is the ultimate result of what we hope to happen,” Kulkarni said. “We created this to bring communities together and advance the agenda of supporting each other.”