Pacific BK — Local services in New York

If you are considering using PacificBK as a venue for your next special event, please BEWARE. DON'T DO IT, RUN!!! I had a wedding reception for 135 people that started at 5pm on June 25, 2017. My signed contract with PacificBK guaranteed me the space from 12pm-12am on that day.

We paid in full for the space in advance plus an extra $600 for cleaned, pressed and assembled linens including chair covers with gold table runners to be ready on 6/25/17 at 12pm. Our three outside vendors were to arrive at 12:15pm to decorate (draping, stage furniture, and space florist). When we arrived at the venue, the place was shut down with the lights off and Dion and Mike's (floor manager)phones sent our calls to voicemail. Imagine the anxiety I, the bride, must have felt knowing my vendors were minutes away from arriving to a closed venue. So we waited, and waited, called and waited.

At 1:30pm the Pacificbk door opens from the inside and the smelly, drunk, wild-haired Mike comes out. He was asleep in the place the whole time. The venue is still a wreck from the night before (bottles and garbage everywhere) and he tries to keep us from seeing it. He says he needs an hour to get things set up. He also says he's confused because he thought the space needed to be ready by 4pm. The contract says 12pm and on several occasions including the day before our event we reminded Mike. My husband went to PacificBK to test sound the day before and reminded Mike again about what we wanted/paid for - a complete set up by 12pm- and he told us he understood and promised it would be done.

Fourteen bare tables up at 3PM. Garbage still around, chaffing dishes not assembled, bathrooms not stocked. At this point, my friends are cleaning up, we realized there was no way for him and one other guy and two little kids to get things done in an hour. Pacificbk staff were clearly still hung over from the night before and moved around aimlessly. I cleaned the bathroom, the bride! There was no toilet paper, no hand towels.

Then, the linens we paid for did not come so we were forced to use what they had in-house already. Mike called a girl from somewhere to help. She started sifting through dirty linens to find the best ones and ironing them to go on the tables. Some of these linens had stains and all were not ironed because there was no time. My vendors were ironing and helping out. There were not enough chair covers in white as we paid for, so we had to use mix-matched coverings. It's now 4pm.

Mike is nervous, pleading with us not to tell the father or Dion what he did and the complete disaster we saw.

4:50pm guests begin to arrive and set up is not complete, they have to sit in the corridor and stand outside in the sun for an hour because the venue was not ready.

I ended up delegating duties to Pacificbk staff who were clueless and hung over, I was cleaning, and finding alternatives for items we paid for but did not receive.

Event happened, WE made it a success! Our party ended at 12am including light clean up.

Pacificbk staff was taking plates of food from our event to the building next door without asking.

Next day: I now ask for a refund for the linens and time lost. Dion lied about the time frame he gave us - 12-12am and claimed we booked for 5-12pm. He even went as far as changing the time on his receipt in fear of his father finding out. We had our copy for proof fortunately which we showed to the father. Dion used an intimidating tone with us on the phone to discourage us from persisting. We finally spoke to the father who seemed understanding but on the day of refund it's apparent that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. He makes my husband wait 3 hours at Pacificbk before he arrives with some of the refund. We ended up getting a small portion of what we were owed. We didn't shake on it. Pacificbk has deplorable business practices and unscrupulous staff. They should be shut down.

Don't do business with these THUGS. They will take your money, ruin your special day, then take no responsibility, and try to intimidate you...

Pacific BK is a nontraditional wedding venue that cost a fraction of other places of the wedding industrial complex. What a fantastic way to start our married life together, not in debt! The venue comes with EVERYTHING: tables (8 large round, 6 cocktail, at least 7 6ft buffets), white round lanterns, lights (strobe, disco ball), great sound system, A/C, event insurance, chafing dishes. As if that weren’t enough, it’s close to our neighborhood, accessible to transportation and a $14 parking garage on Washington Ave. Dion took care of the booking in a straightforward and relaxed way (perhaps too relaxed), while Michael was there during the party to oversee that we had what we needed. I worried that 2 bathrooms might be an issue for our 130 guests, but there was hardly ever a wait. For small extra fees, we hired a security guard, 2 excellent servers, a bartender and clean up crew. Extra plus is that it's POC owned...

Wow!, what can I say about the Pacific Ballroom except that it's all that they said it would be. This venue is one I will always use because of there hospitality, professionalism and just being and treating me like a person not just a customer looking to rent their space. They are very personable and treat you like family. I also must send a special shout out to the manager Mike who went above and beyond his duties to ensure that my night was all that it should be. I also must express how the owner Tom was just as kind and was there for me when I had an issue with one of my delivers that didn't make it on time. Trust me when I say, if you want to have your event worry free, as far as the venue is concerned, then book them I promise you won't be disappointed! Giving them five stars still can't express how happy I was with the venue and its...