Cheyenne Saloon & Opera House

**This review is not for the Cheyenne Saloon & Opera House but strictly for the Whiskey Business event**
The positive:
The Cheyenne Saloon is such a gorgeous place to have any event. The vintage wood, the stained glass everything there is so beautiful, therefore it was very fitting and perfect to have Whiskey Business at this venue.
I purchased VIP tickets which was in my opinion worth the money. My ticket came with compliment at valet parking, a whiskey glass and complimentary tickets to an upcoming event. If that wasn’t enough, I was able to attend the event 1 hour before the door opened for general admission and had a designated VIP section with unlimited drinks!
Being there 1 hour early allowed me not only to sample amazing foods from Green Day café, Tibby’s Kitchen and U roll sushi but also allowed me to sample different type of whiskey. I personally loved the Honey flavored Jack Daniel’s and the Tennessee Fire which has a hint of cinnamon (it tasted like fireball).
The food was mind blowing there is no doubt about that.
* Green Day Café had 3 amazing food selections:
— pita bread with delicious hummus
— broccoli crunch with yummy cranberries
— black beans salad
I really loved the black bean salad and the hummus, they it were both fresh and very tasty. Also even though Green day café does have meat on their full menu, the food we were able to sample was all vegetarian and vegan which I thought was awesome for people with dietary restrictions.
* Tibby’s Kitchen had an Andouille Sausage Jamabalaya. All I have to say is that I went back twice to that table. The rice and sausage mix was out of this world. I usually do not eat spicy food but this dish even if it had a little kick to it was delicious. I will definitely be going to Tibby’s Kitchen very soon.
* U roll sushi had a lot of amazing rolls but the one I loved was the spicy tuna roll and the mango crunch roll.
In all honesty all 3 vendors did an amazing job with their foods. Everything was tasty and delicious. Great vendor, great rolls that were inspired by attendees. If that wasn’t enough, we were also serenaded by live band that played jazz which made the event very entertaining. Also some people were trying to dance which was also great.
The negative:
The event was advertised as a Mad Men inspired evening where the dress code was business attire or Mad Men like clothes, which in my opinion is pretty easy to find. The dress code was not enforced at all and that was a shame. I saw a lot of people who were dressed in jeans and shorts (shorts are unacceptable!) Jeans could have been okay had they worn proper dressy shirts. Another thing is that the place was packed. It was very hard to navigate through the crowd.
I wanted to have an Old Fashioned and since I was in the VIP section where we had our own bar with unlimited drinks I thought it would be an easy drink to get. Unfortunately the VIP section DID NOT have any whiskey… how can you not any whiskey at a whiskey event is just incomprehensible.
I had to fight through the crowd to get the bar downstairs and attempt to get my drink.
When it was finally my turn the lady at the bar told me they ran out of cups. I was very surprised that an event of that magnitude could run out of cups. I had to walk back to the entrance of the Cheyenne Saloon and get my souvenir glass to get the drink I wanted only to find out that the bartender was on a break. At that point I gave up and just got some watered down lemonade with Old Forrester.
I’m giving this event 3 stars because the venue is absolutely magnificent and the VIP tickets which allowed me to get in an hour earlier was worth it. 3 stars because I feel they should have enforced the dress code since it was advertised as business attire. 3 stars because even if it was crowded there is no reason or excuse that they could run out of cups and that the VIP section did not have any whiskey.
In conclusion even if I was able to get in an hour early and did enjoy sampling a lot of food before the crowd got in, I was disappointed to see that some people just didn’t care enough to make the effort to dress up professionally.

This is a historic venue. It is an old opera house with the detail and artistry in it’s construction to prove it. There are stained glass windows, vintage chandeliers and a ton of woodwork to boot. There is wood everywhere even on the ceilings which adds to the acoustical value of the space. The wood helps control the sound.
I have been to concerts and different events here and I have always had an amazing time. The place gives a grand location for amazing events. The pictures are just awesome. There are tons of places for you to explore and also a balcony to church street on the second floor.
There are tons of places to sit and get a good vantage point of the stage. The state is a real stage built into the structure of the venue with a grand staircase on either side opening up to the stage for everyone to see the performances. If you have a chance to experience this venue I would suggest you go for it because the city every year tries to tear it down.

Maaaaaan~ How is this place not open every night?!?
I have heard plenty of stories of why this place closed down (Mr. Snow opened another Cheyenne Saloon in Vegas and sold this one/​Mickey did it when he opened his darn Downtown Disney!) but never have I been so sad to see a venue empty as I have when I’ve walked by the saloon on a Saturday night.
THIS Saturday was different though! The Orlando Weekly (everyone’s favorite local alternative publication) held The Great Orlando Mixer there tonight and the venue really shone!
The party was a Gatsby-​inspired 1920’s costume and dance party with some cocktails thrown in for good measure. It was fun but the true star was the actual venue! 3 stories of throwback amazingness with huge wooden stairs going down the middle. PERFECT scene for Gatsby!
I spoke to someone who used to work on Church Street in its heyday and he said that at one time (and possibly still) the entire saloon was held together only with wooden joints and that not a nail was used in any significant capacity. I’m not sure if this is true, but I am inclined to believe it. Everything about this place is finely detailed and legit. You will walk in and feel absolutely transported to another era (even without people in full flapper-​garb!).
The only big drawback that I could see is that the walkways on either side of the dance floor (along the parallel bars) were narrow and became inadequate as the night went on and more people started waiting by the bar for the next mixer to be served.
As a venue though, I give this one pretty high marks. It’s got the over-​the-​top retro factor and is absolutely massive. AND best of all, it’s in the heart of Downtown Orlando!