On August 1, 2008 Byard posted “What’s your new late night hangout in Charlottesville?” It was an unpleasant reminder that our beloved OXO was gone and that nothing had quite taken its place. After being OXOless for more than two months I believe we have finally moved on. The crowds have spread out, but no one seems to be aimlessly wandering the streets. My assessment?

Ventana has become a favorite for a few late nighters. X-Lounge has added some ex-OXO patrons (and why wouldn’t it - it has our very own B yo and shenanigans and now uva non-douche).  Last, Cassis with its new $5.00 cover has seemed to squeeze itself into the late night weekend scene.

This brings me to the very purpose of my post. Did we not see a spike in OXO attendance after they enacted their $5.00 cover. Are you more inclined to hang out at a place that charges you just to enter?

It was rare to see a crowd in Cassis three months ago - now the place is packed. You can catch people dancing on tables, groups hanging around outside and there has even been the occasional line to get in. Dancing, music, what? Before OXO’s death and their $5.00 cover Cassis was just a dinner spot that you rarely even remembered. Talk of a sale or even a permanent closing of its doors was the word on the street until now. Business seems to be booming.

No one from Cvillain has posted on their experience at the new late night hangout. Hopefully that will change soon (hint, hint). The scene seems very OXOish. Is it true does a cover create a hotspot?

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While being repeatedly disappointed with the late night at Cassis and X-Lounge and there being no late night at Ten yet I can’t help but feeling an ever increasing sadness about the loss of OXO. It’s been over a month now.

What other late night spots have come up since? Are people happy with Cassis, X-Lounge and the ever exciting Escafe?

I was also wondering, we all know Shenanigans has migrated to X-Lounge, the OXO door guy is now the door guy at Cassis and another all time favorite bartender has retired altogether. What happened to the other OXO bartenders and bartendresses? I keep my eyes peeled but I can’t seem to spot them anywhere.

What are cVillain’s thoughts?

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The cat is out of its bag. OXO has been sold and it is no more. We don’t know the details on the new owner or the plans, but we are sad to see it go. I wish the new owner could come on here and let us know his plans. If anyone knows him send him this way!

While we did get an anonymous tip about 2 months ago regarding OXO being on the auction block, we didn’t believe it. Sorry birdie.. you were right.

Let’s recap OXO’s brief history.

August 5th, 2007 - cVillain’s Iron discovers the late night scene at OXO. We rave that “people were actually dancing!” We also critique some of the shortcomings of a restaurant that had little experience with the late night scene.

September 7th, 2007 - OXO learns how to walk, starts to advertise and we send our spies. At that point we were almost as young as OXO, but we saw potential. OXO was hawt.

November 19th, 2007 - OXO grows too big for its own britches. We feel bad because we loved it too much and it turned into one of those problem children. You can read the post, but “You had so much potential, so much independence, so much going for you. You almost had it just right. But you failed to listen and now you are not what I desire.” Things would change for the better.
January 19th, 2008 - The dancing gets dangerous. Drinks are banned on the dance floor.

Spring 2008 - Not sure when exactly, but OXO introduced the infamous Velvet Rope and VIP cards.

April 21st, 2008 - OXO has its bondage party. We have some pictures and wonder how to get more people in leather.

June 16th, 2008 - Closure. No forewarnings to staff or to us. And like that, she was dead.

It is sad to see one of quickest growing, most frustrating and most exciting late night scenes die in Charlottesville. cVillain will miss friendly faces, a default cVillain hangout, professional service and lots of dancing. OXO, you just matured into a sexy, young adult and you left Charlottesville. Maybe we will get to meet again…for now, au revoir.

*tear*

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Well, in case you have been living under a rabbit hole in the last few weeks, you may have missed out on some juicy restaurant gossip. It seems as though one of Charlottesville’s finest is for sale, someone new is doing late nights and a former player has lost its mojo. Which is which?

You have to guess…

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Ooo lala, both Rapture and OXO are flirting with me again. Why? I do not know, but I like the attention. Thursday night looks exciting to me. Between cocoNUT milk, dancey pants and Chilean DJs I’ll probably be heading out and about. Get your dancing shoes on folks and continue reading to figure out what’s going down.

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I’m going to try a new format for week in review. Let me know if you like it.

Ah, the week after Valentine’s day means a lot for people. For love-bird couples it means spending less money; for singles it means a return to happiness after a momentary commercial induced lapse to depression. For cVillains, it meant waking up to Mas’ owner giving us the lowdown on how to order cocktails. While we are no strangers to food, we thought it appropriate to discuss the merits of eating meat and decided that no one really cares what you eat and everyone can have their own opinion. Boring, I know. The rest of the week was more exciting.

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A little birdie sends this one in.

Beginning next Friday (29th) Cassis will have Sarah behind the bar, making her magical drinks

You may remember Sarah from our list of superlatives. She won “Most Entertaining/Hottest Bartender”

Is it just me or is everyone doing late night stuff these days?

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Blue Light Is The Winner.

Not surprisingly, Blue Light Grill took the pie. Blue Light was certainly the first “high end” bar that came to Charlottesville and it seems to have kept its prestige all these years. Personally, Blue Light seems to be the default “where you go when you want a non-UVA crowd” type place, but I’ve had countless experiences that suggest otherwise. Here are my gripes with Blue Light:

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