By Matthew Halverson
It’s entirely possible that the owners of 609 derived the moniker of this restaurant and lounge from its address on Eastgate in the Loop—a naming trend that’s been popular in New York for years—but a little numerological analysis suggests that there may be more to those digits than self-referential location reinforcement.
Six is the number of high-perched tables positioned next to the dance floor for which DJs spin everything from house to hip-hop nightly. Throw in an additional percussionist on Saturday nights and danceable beats far outnumber butts in the seats.
Zero is the number of flashy design flourishes employed throughout the sparse space. Like the restaurant portion that resides on the other side of a sliding stainless-steel door, the lounge area leans toward an industrial, minimalist aesthetic: painted cement floors, low-slung black leather couches that face the coolly metallic bar, dark walls that don’t so much accentuate the dark as absorb what little pink and purple light there is, frosted-glass windows that deny passersby the chance to steal a glance inside.
Nine is the number of tobacco flavors available for smoking in the hookahs that inhalers young and not-so-young gather around in the private rooms beyond the dance floor. And $15 (6 + 0 + 9) is the price patrons pay to use the hose-and-reservoir devices and feel—if for only an hour—like a certain Wonderland caterpillar.
It’s an eclectic and somewhat unlikely mix of elements for what is, at its core, a lounge for the relaxed urban scene. A shotgun layout tempers the cool décor with an air of coziness, and patrons—both the mohawked and jeaned-and-sweatered—mix and mingle. Despite the sometimes-throbbing playlist that had heads nodding the night we were there, the dance floor was far from the typical bump-and-grind; in fact at times it resembled an audition for the next season of So You Think You Can Dance, with hip-hoppers taking turns in an impromptu dance-off.
The light haze of smoke—hookah and cigarette—that hung in the air might be a negative for some, but for those tipping back their drinks and showing off their solo steps, it didn’t seem to matter.
609 Eastgate, 314-721-9168, www.609u.com, 5 p.m.–1:30 a.m. daily
