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  Cosmos in Ballantyne vs. Villa Antonio September 21st, 2009 Posted by Hunter Wilson

  The NEW Cosmos

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  The NEW Cosmos

  As a resident of the Ballantyne area I am very familiar with Villa Antonio. I remember the first night my girlfriends and I rolled into Villa for a late night drink only to be stunned by a smoke machine and DJ. Sometimes you just don’t feel like driving all the way uptown but, you wanna dance. Now look this genius brought it right to our backyard! Over the years the clientele has stayed about the same, mostly an over 30 (sometimes way over) crowd. I think the occasional 20 something would check it out only to be horrified that they might run into their Mom or Dad getting their groove on. So here you have a fine dining restaurant with seriously good food that oddly turns into a nightclub after 11pm. So yes, while odd we accepted it as a good time when we didn’t feel like driving 30 plus minutes to Uptown.

  Then construction started on a new strip mall not far from the Stonecrest shopping center. “Cosmos coming soon!” the sign read and the buzz began. Opening weekend my friends and I and every other adult in a 10 mile radius checked it out. The layout is very cool, with a giant circle bar just like the uptown location. The outside patio is pretty large and the feel of the place is just a little more “meant to be an upscale bar” even though it is also a restaurant. That first night we commented that if they made space for a dance floor it would be a very cool place to come. The atmosphere was fun and the music was loud.

  So fast forward to 4 months later, we have heard that they are clearing out the tables to allow for dancing and we decide to check it out again. Now we might have gotten there too early, it was a little after 11 and was completely packed, but no one was dancing. The area was cleared out but, the lighting was bright and still very restaurant feeling inside. Everyone was standing around the open space chit chatting. We hang out assessing the place for a while to see if anything was going to happen. No one makes a move to turn the conversation area into a booty shaking area so we quickly decide to head to Villa where we know it will be on. Except, it is so. not. on. You could hear crickets in there if you listened hard enough. A once packed space was completely empty. Before you could barely move in there, sometimes it was too much to deal with. This night it was uncomfortably empty. So what’s a lazy girl to do? The place with the atmosphere for dancing had no people; the place with the people had no dancing. We decided enough with the running around and made the best of it. Sort of like at a wedding if you shake it they will come. Also, like at a wedding most people stayed in their seats. We managed to make a fun night out of it because face it if you have a good group you can have fun anywhere. I can’t help feeling a little sad for Villa though. Cosmos stole the people with it’s newness and larger bar and huge outdoor area. They certainly don’t have the dark intimate feel of Villa…like you are doing something you shouldn’t by getting tipsy and dancing in a fine dining restaurant and I’m gonna miss that. So I guess it’s what you prefer big and bright or small and dark or sucker someone into being your DD and go uptown!

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  Hunter Wilson

  Owner, CarolinaNightlife.com1 Posts

  Charles is the Executive Director of Carolina Nightlife and very involved in the nightlife industry in NC and SC. He has been working with venues of all sizes, different brands and products, and countless events across NC and SC for over 8 years.

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