The Fruit — Attraction in Durham

Great time at The Fruit over the weekend seeing Eric Luttrell! He was playing a 3 hour extended set that started at 11. We arrived around 930 and decided to Uber there so I can't say anything about parking even though the lot was not very busy at that time. Showed our IDs to the security men out front who were both very nice and very friendly. The young lady who checked our tickets was also very pleasant and polite. The venue has an underground warehouse vibe to it and there are plenty of little alcoves with couches and seating to which you can actually sit down and relax (without getting yelled at like most nightclubs). We got a couple of sodas at the bar upon arrival; service was friendly and sodas were two dollars apiece. Besides the two bottles of water we purchased at the end of the evening, that was our only experience at the bar. I feel badly for forgetting the guy who opened for Luttrell, but when we walked in he was playing Proff and we were so impressed! We enjoyed his set which was a nice mix of deep and progressive house music. Absolutely perfect for an opening act and he definitely got the crowd pumped up! Eric Luttrell's set was amazing! We danced all night long until the very end. The crowd was a nice mix of everyone and I'm happy to report that there was no pushing, no shoving and no one bothered or harassed us the entire evening (which is a very big thing if you go ahead and look at my review for Achemy Raleigh from last week). When you walk into the venue, there is a large sign to the left by the bathrooms (all gender), indicating no tolerance for touching without consent, pushing, violence etc... so nice that the patrons here actually followed that. We felt safe here at this venue so a big thank you to The Fruit's security! Overall it was a five-star experience, and I would absolutely love to come back! Thank you so much for a wonderful and memorable night...

I can’t say enough good things about this place. It’s progressive, it’s accepting, it just gets that you want to listen to a fantastic DJ with a reasonably priced drink in your hand.

We’ve loved this spot for a while. Halloween was amazing. But tonight (June 24 2023) at Luttrell my love for this venue was solidified. When I asked the bartender for a “citrusy cocktail” for my friend who has recently started going out again, they owned it. So many show bartenders would scoff. But they were wonderful. Then, a fellow patron was searching desperately for a tampon. I asked a male security member (Eduardo) if they happened to have one. He searched high and low. As a woman, I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to be able to walk up to a man and ask for help and he not even blink, but be helpful. Later, a man had perhaps had a bit too much of something, and was grabbing at women in the crowd. EDUARDO TO THE RESCUE. He was incredible at removing this man- I don’t even think the people around us realized. It was ART.

I wanted his boss to know he’s wonderful. Everyone I asked was very receptive and helpful- one even texted their boss to come over!

The Fruit makes you feel like a human. I don’t know a better way to say that. It’s my favorite venue in this country. I can’t wait until I see it on a “Best Venues You’re Missing Out On” list. Go here now and then you can be the cool kid amongst...

Absolutely love the space and the vibe they bring to the area. They do some amazing community fundraising & put a lot of thought and care into their events. My main issue is the layout of the bar & the lack of efficiency of service for high capacity events. Only having two bartenders on (who didn’t appear to have proper experience in high-volume atmospheres) really put a damper on the ability to enjoy the event. I arrived around 11:30pm and wasn’t able to get a drink until after midnight (and I spent 30 minutes in line). I work at a nightclub myself and have over 7 years of bartending experience and it’s very clear that the staff either isn’t given the tools to succeed or aren’t experienced enough for this type of setting. I’m sure on slower nights this isn’t an issue, but from the capacity of the bar it seems like if an event is even slightly full, the customer experience is set up to be a nightmare. I’ve talked to others who’ve been to other events (this was my first time going) and they echoed the same sentiments about ordering drinks. It’s a shame because this spot has a lot of potential, but it definitely needs to work out the kinks before I’d...