Amazon by Greenhouse – failure to launch

After over a decade of being a reporter and attending events as part of the job, you start to take certain things for granted as they become standard practice. This is because events often follow a specific formula. However, you occasionally get an outlier that helps put things back into perspective and my first experience of new Joburg hangout spot, Amazon by Greenhouse, did exactly that. 

I can matter-of-factly state that my experience of Amazon by Greenhouse will be my last as it was not a pleasant introduction.

Last week, I made my way to the 24Central precinct in Sandton upon invitation by representatives of the establishment who invited The Citizen to experience the nightclub on the night of its official launch. I accepted the invitation prompted by curiosity about what the people who started Greenhouse had to offer. 

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Greenhouse is the Sandton eatery that went up in flames about three months ago after an issue with some pyrotechnics that met with the synthetic leaves hanging from the establishment’s roof as part of its decor.

Shortly after the fire, the establishment – owned and operated by the Boulder Group – announced a temporary closure with the relaunch scheduled for mid-August later this year.

Some days before finding out about the Amazon by Greenhouse launch, I had gone past Greenhouse on my way to another establishment in the precinct that also recently launched.  The bare bones of the restaurant still stand, looking like the remnants of a haunted house and this piqued my curiosity about their return.

Upon arrival at Amazon, dressed to honour their “jungle fever” theme, I stood in the queue like the evening’s other guests to receive a welcome drink from the branded bar outside after being prompted to do so by the staff stationed outside to welcome us. Disappointingly, by the time I made my way to the front, they were out of glasses.

I should have taken what happened next as a sign of things to come.

The bartender informed me that they were out of glasses and instead of offering to do something about it, he told my guest and I to make our way in and hunt down a waitress for our drinks. Not just any waitress though, it had to specifically be one holding Bombay Sapphire glasses as those were the welcome drinks.

And so my work begun. I made my way in, enamoured by the venues décor, hoping for a great evening and struggled to find the type of waitress I was told to look for. So I made my way to the bar which, at most other events, would be a perfectly reasonable place to expect to get a welcome drink. 

I was curtly told they’re not serving welcome drinks and that I would have to pay for my drinks at that point. I was then shown a cocktail menu with prices ranging between R145 and R160 per drink. I guess these prices had been calculated according to inflation and factoring in the current petrol price because they were quite steep.

ALSO READ: Greenhouse Sandton restaurant issues notice after going up in flames

My guest and I then found a place to sit while deciding what to drink for the evening. We were then approached by a waitress whom we asked about the welcome drinks and some moments later, a colourful cocktail was placed on our table.

We asked about the night’s non-alcoholic options as my guest does not drink and we were told they had none. Sometime thereafter, she was told she can order a Redbull as there were no virgin cocktails being served.

We found this quite odd as not everyone consumes alcohol – another sign of things to come.

Passing waitresses then offered us some eats to try so we opted to try one piece of sushi each, a decision I immediately regretted as I bit into a piece of glass in my uramaki.

Horrified, I tried to inform the waitress in case some other pieces of sushi had been contaminated and she just shrugged and smiled and went on about her work, offering people food from the same tray. 

Odd.

We tried to inform another waitress and were met with the same nonchalance so we chose to stay away from the food altogether.

All this was happening to the sounds of some dated EDM. On occasion, the EDM would be interrupted by some live drums played by one of the entertainers as the other dancers put on a Coming-to-America-style performance that was, honestly, nothing to write home about.

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Hoping for a chance to at least hit the dance floor before we left, we waited and waited for some good music to play, to no avail. This was quite the disappointment considering the club’s plans to “host a range of DJs catering to various tastes.” Something that was not demonstrated at their launch. 

So we left…

… And were accused of trying to skip out on a bill we had no idea we were even liable for as invited media guests on a launch night. A bill we promptly settled to put an end to an awful evening that would have been better spent at home.

Comparing our experience to the Boulder Group’s plans for Amazon by Greenhouse as outlined on their website by their COO Adam Schlosberg, it is disappointing to say the least.

I informed the people who invited the publication to the launch of my experience and I did receive and apology and was informed that my concerns would be investigated and attended to.

I was offered another experience at the establishment, however, I have opted not to take it. I have seen and experienced enough from them at this point.

Amazon by Greenhouse is not the place for me, and I cannot, in good conscience recommend it to anyone else. However, I sincerely hope their countless other patrons have a far better experience than I did. 

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