SoHo East

See Gone, but not forgotten.

SoHo East was a nightclub and bar on East Avenue. It is now Heat Nightclub.

Archived Description:

SoHo East picked up where Tonic left off, with a few improvements. The clientele and music is pretty much the same — expect lots of shiny dark shirts on men and exposed navels on women, but then again, that's standard fare in most clubs. The biggest new plus is the addition of the outdoor bar on the previously existing patio, expanding the already excellent service to the outdoors. Drink prices are competitive, and there is a reasonable selection of beers.

On most nights, expect a small cover, from $3. The building is shared with two other bars: the country-themed Daisy Dukes, and the "concert venue" A-Pub Live. SoHo East occupies the top floor, though the cover charge allows entry to all three.

Comments:

Note: You must be logged in to add comments

See Archive Page for comments prior to 2008.

2008-02-15 03:44:50   RACIST... amazingly RACIST... never ever in my clubbing life seen a club like this. Bouncers are not at all interested in the customers. If your skin color is dark or black, its a simple process... collect your coat, the bouncer (black) guides you to the exit, and says, 'i am sorry, i was told to walk you out as per the manager'. god knows why. NEVER will they answer. If friends inside try to meet the manager, they will not let u. The worst thing, Standing outside in the cold after being kicked out and ask the bouncer, 'please can u call the manager' to this the reply is, ' I am sorry, i dont have a clue why u are kicked, i am just doing my job' is the job kicking people out... ur damn job includes listening to the customers... god damn it.. NO ONE with dark skin color(any color besides white) should go here... RACISM STILL PREVAILS..... damn it.. —RajJames

2008-02-15 03:50:10   p.s i am not black, but brown to be specific indian... and yet due to my hair style, i was sent out... I would say dont even bother going to this place... its small and the music sucks...Dj never takes requests(at least the one i always see)..... a much better place would be Liquid ( also very near soho)... much better music and plesant surroundings.... —RajJames

2008-02-15 09:30:56   If you have a problem with the obviously racist management at Soho East you should probably also avoid all these bars (as I do) on account of them being owned/managed by the same group: Vinyl, A-Pub Live, Daisy Dukes, Coyote Joe's, The Chocolate Bar, Syxx, and The Pig. —DarrenKemp

2008-02-21 20:49:01   First of all this is a very low class bar. Exactly you are Rochester so why you trying to act like you wish you were hollywood or something. Lets see.... 1. Your DJ's are horrible, turn on radio, its the same
2. Security needs training. You guys are all friends we get that. Not professional.
3. There is no fashion and people cant wear anything that is high class without getting rejected(idiots)
4. Your light system on the dance floor is horrible and very cheap.
5. Very racist, and discriminating club. Pick and choose(Your just Rochester Chill out)
6. You don't even have a website so it is impossible to get business from far away cause if they where something they can where at any other club they cant get in.
SOHO's is a shame. What a Lame club you guys are lucky you guys are the only one and you have no competitor other wise you guys would be screwed —BrandonSmith

2008-02-21 20:53:33   Yeah you should avoid all the bars owned by these owners. They are no good. Go to buffalo and Toronto they will appreciate your business more than these immatures. Im telling you just go to Toronto and screw these low class Rochester Bars by these owners.

The only reason why they are able to by this place out is because they are all friends and they all split the costs. Poor losers. The only way you can get in according to them at soho's is if you are wearing a plain pair of tight pants. NO fashion and low class you cant even go to Dolce and Gabbana or Versace and by a pair of pants cause you wont get in. HAHAAHAHA Suckers —BrandonSmith

2008-05-28 02:43:38   This bar is awful, unless it's during a bar party and you already know everyone there. I don't know who they are trying to keep out, because I certainly have (briefly) met my share of sketchy patrons at this place. My friend tried to get in there in November (he was my friend's boyfriend), and they told him his pants were too baggy too.

Oh, and on my 21st birthday last year, I was riding the bull downstairs at Daisy Dukes, and it hit me right on my throat. I hadn't even had more than two drinks at that point. It REALLY hurt, and I begged the guy operating it to stop, but he didn't listen. Finally my friend got him to stop. —Diana

2008-06-22 23:47:00   The above accusations of racism are absolutely true. I've had the exact same experience as OneLove when I visited SoHo with a friend who was black, and another time with a friend who was Puerto Rican. Too many incidents to be a coincidence. Good thing I've outgrown the appeal of these Ronnie Davis managed bars & clubs. —NathanHenderson

2008-07-03 22:37:45   I agree with OneLove. I ran into the same issue but I'm not black, I'm asian and what was wack about my experience there was that my polo shirt was past my waist... Isn't that the worst excuse you could give someone? I mean the bouncer could have said anything but the fact that my polo was past my waist was dead wrong.. Who's polo shirt isn't past their waist..... —DannyLuangsiyotha

2008-07-20 18:54:06   The head of security asked me to turn around to look at my jeans I say okay cool, assuming he wants to check and see if I have any logos on the back because I know that's not allowed....I turn around and he goes..."Your pants are too baggy you can't come in," I turn around and say "excuse me????" I lift up my shirt just to show him the jeans fit me perfectly I say "look at these, these are Levi slim fit jeans what are you talking about?".....I turned to the other security guard and say "Do you really think these jeans are baggy?" He just shook his head and said "sorry he's the boss".....so I say to the head of security okay "should I go to my car and put on a belt to make these jeans even tighter?" He goes "NO they're too baggy you can't get in." So I say "okay,"...very well, I calmly walk to my car and changed into another pair of jeans, these ones were a darker color jeans...but the exact same brand (Levi), and style, slim fit...and the same exact size!!! I walked back to Soho's but this time used the other door in the front on East Ave.....and guess what, I walked right in with no problem from the bouncer at the other door.....same exact sized jeans....hmmmm...kind of strange I think. So I'm in the club for a few hours and guess who I see?...the head of security who wouldn't let me in earlier and he runs right up on me and says "Hey can I see your stamp???" and he says it in a tone of voice like I shouldn't have been in there and he couldn't wait to see a stamp-less hand so he could kick me out....too bad for him I had the stamp on my hand and flashed it right in his face.....he looked really shocked and embarrassed and kind of stuttered as he was like "ahhh oh did you changed your pants or something," and quickly asked if I wanted a free drink....meanwhile I'm wearing the same exact jeans that he wouldn't let me in for in the first place, only a different color. Stuff like this is ridiculous......oh yeah...I am black by the way...actually mixed black and white but you get my point...I don't like to play the race card.......but damn man.....they certainly pass judgment on you and then try to come up with a lame excuse to not let you in. All these security guards are so tough at work when they have 20 dudes backing them up.....I'd like to see if they're so tough when they're by themselves. —jdilla

2008-08-15 10:51:15   What an awful, awful, awful place. I miss Tonic. I guess if I was 19 it would be fun, but past 23 years old you shouldnt be caught dead here. —MrRochester

2008-08-15 11:57:09   I will affirm the statements of everyone else here. I am white, and on one occasion two other friends and I, one white and one black, attempted to get in to Daisy Dukes. My black friend, who was the best dressed of all of us was denied entry because his "shirt was too long". His shirt, being the same length as everyone else, was absolutely a normal length.

On another occasion, a black guy in line in front of me was denied entry because his pants were too baggy. AGAIN, no more baggy than anyone else in line. The guy directly in front of me in line, who I didn't even know, turned to me and said "I didn't think there was anything wrong with what he was wearing". The bouncer didn't even bother to look at the clothes of the following people in line. Just looked at their ID and shuffled them along to pay the cover. —DerekAdams

2008-08-24 08:54:48   All the black guys who aren't getting in aren't missing anything anyhow, same scene at any other hell hole. The bouncers did me a favor by kicking me out because I had a cut off tee on and it was 99 degrees in there and outside. Sorry that I have muscles, doesn't mean that I am going to fight someone. —CJM8232

2008-09-08 14:20:15   Thanks for the heads up. I was thinking about making this a stop on our bachelorette party list, but now I'm taking it, Vinyl, Chocolate Bar, and any others owned by these guys off our list. There is no excuse for treating different skin colors differently. I'll make sure to pass this around my friends too. —racheljbs

2008-09-29 19:49:00   Waste of money, slow service. too many people. Avoid this place at all cost. —MetalFrost

2009-02-17 21:49:54   I hear everyone on this however I do not think its a race issue I am white and this place used to be straight when it first switched to soho. now I have been turned down for the following reasons. My shirt too long, my pants too baggy, my shorts too long, the wrong logo on my shirt.Even becasue had a gold chain on LOL that was my favorite of all time. The sad part is I used to drop like a $1000 a night. Not including what my friends spent. I asked the bouncer one time out of curiosity how long my shirt had to be and he pointed just below his naval and said about here. Yeeeaahhhh OK. Sorry I wear clothes that fit me. I had a friend get me in once cause he knew people and the whole thing was nothing but dudes. good for you females whack for us guys. I left as soon as I walked in. So none of you guys are missing jack in here. my advice Buffalo or Canada. Rochester clubs ARE WHACK! —Checkingitout

2009-05-20 13:59:05   wow—this bar ruined the great location that tonic was known for. first—not being let in for grounds other than being under 21 or obnoxiously drunk? hello, is this NYC? soho needs to stop pretending they're catering to the upper east side of manahattan. second, i had a problem with the drinks (didn't know how to make what i ordered, didn't ask, gave me garbage), music (what i heard sounded like the 90's jock jams cd) and crowd (ran into very many muscle head, frat-gotti boys). I wouldn't call this upscale to any degree—a classless venue full of sketchy patrons and employees. steer clear. —Leisel

2009-12-25 19:06:49   Unfortunately this club has started to fall apart in recent months. This use to be my go-to club to have a good time and enjoy hanging with the young people. It seems like the crowd from Liquid has showed up recently. The music can still be decent, but the crowd doesn’t seem to want to dance to it. I’ve noticed more fights and menacing looks from other patrons. It is not even close to the upscale atmosphere they once tried to achieve. I walk right on by on the weekends (feeling safer when the RPD is there with me) and go to the nicer places. —JohnBugajski

2010-01-01 01:51:21   The music at SOHO is abysmal, it didn't used to be but for the past 2 years they can't help but host incompetent DJs who have no RHYTHM! It gets horribly cramped, and the bouncers are racist pricks. —palmtreejutsu

2010-01-07 17:05:31   Is it true that SoHo closed? —Justingreen

2010-02-16 01:04:37   first of all i read a handful of comments where people seem to think the club is horrible because there is a dress code. that's east ave. to the noobies who have yet to understand that. it's not a bad thing either. as an exotic dancer, i can tell you a club owner, dancers, bar tenders all know that if you look broke, you probably are. if you look expensive, you just might be. if you look like you are in a gang or act like you have something to prove, it's probably because that's the truth. i think the kid talking about getting kicked out for his skin color and using the "racist" card is a little ridiculous. i just became a promoter for this place and some nightclubs on east ave. and two of my managers have dark skin. i think if you walk into a place and have the attitude and paranoia of anything even remotely LIKE racism, than that is all you are going to see in the first place. they also don't want things like baggy pants because they want to make sure no one is carrying anything they might be able to conceal and shouldn't have with them. mostly: weapons. perhaps some of you have been turned down because you didn't look like your ID or they didn't believe it was real. maybe you even had an rude or "poor" attitude at the door. maybe someone you didn't happen to see was someone who didn't want you there [i.e. bitter spouse or an enemy] and persuasively asked the management or bouncers to escort you out. i have an ex husband i have had to ask my management to refuse his club entrance before. he was livid. he thought it was the way he was dressed. but it was me. he didn't know because he didn't see me, i saw him. i have been asked to leave clubs before because i was super wasted and could barely stand without tipping constantly. they thought i'd had enough to drink and asked me to leave. what i didn't do was flip out and jump to the racist card. yeah, i'm pale freakin' snow white and pretty f*in gorgeous but i DID get asked to leave regardless. i was asked to leave a toronto club before ever getting in. why?? they didn't believe my 22 year old, 4'8" and 80lb. a** was the age i am. i flipped out, yeah. but because i knew what the problem was.

to the kid complaining of the "racist" perspective of what probably wasn't:
if people of America or anywhere really, would stop seeing skin color, they might just see sh*t for what it really is and no one would feel the need to use the racist card. for f*ck's sake we're all human. no one kicked you out because your race. stop being so paranoid. —roxiilove

2010-03-18 13:43:16   For what its worth, this place has been remodled and is now called Heat Nightclub. —TippingPoint

2010-11-28 20:36:25   people who call this place "SOHOS" usually did not make it in the bar... for good reason. when they started it shut down. ITS CALLED SOHO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is no S which means it is not plural. Thanks —HappyResident4

2010-12-29 02:02:01   @roxiilove

Was googling to find info about this place, signed up here just to reply to roxiilove's comment.

A pretty white girl lecturing everyone about racism? What a joke. Let's pick your comment apart piece by piece.

1) "that's east ave to the noobies who have yet to understand that" — And what's so glamorous about East Ave that they have to act like as if they think it's Manhattan or LA? You talk like as if Rochester is in the same league, which it obviously isn't.

2) "if you look broke, you probably are. if you look expensive, you just might be." — and this is ok? It's discrimination and to treat someone unfairly like that is wrong, no way to justify it. And assuming such a thing isn't always true.

3) "i just became a promoter for this place and some nightclubs on east ave." — so you have an obvious bias and motive in posting here trying to defend them, don't you? Why should anyone listen to your non-objective opinion?

4) " think if you walk into a place and have the attitude and paranoia of anything even remotely LIKE racism, than that is all you are going to see in the first place." — did you even read the accounts of others who posted? All they did was try to enter and they were told they couldn't because of reasons that were far-fetched at best like the guy who who changed his jeans even though they were the same style (slim fit, so NOT baggy and no way to conceal anything at all) or the people who experienced their friends being rejected on more than one occasion, too many times to be just a coincidence.

5) As for someone seeing you and asking for you to be turned away? How likely is that to happen? Totally rare and incredibly unlikely, especially on multiple occasions.

6) "i have been asked to leave clubs before because i was super wasted and could barely stand without tipping constantly. they thought i'd had enough to drink and asked me to leave. what i didn't do was flip out and jump to the racist card. yeah, i'm pale freakin' snow white and pretty f*in gorgeous but i DID get asked to leave regardless." — So you know your behavior was the reason they kicked you out. That's fair. But what's fair about turning someone away when their jeans are clearly NOT baggy? Or having your Black or Indian or Asian friend turned away for a shirt that extends a little below the waist? The reason you were kicked out was clear and obvious. The reasons why anyone here commenting was kicked out? Not so much and oh, it just so happens they're not white. Funny that, huh?

7) You're white and you didn't get into a Toronto club? What does that have to do with racism? If you were some other race, it could be a possibility but you being white pretty much negates the race card no matter if you tried it or not.

8) You're 4'8" and 80lbs.? And you're an exotic dancer? A little girl doing pole dancing — disturbing to say the least, and I have no idea how a 4'8", 80lb exotic dancer gets any work.

9) Your last part of your comment is just a joke, isn't it? Again, a pretty white girl trying to lecture everyone on racism. You can't be serious. Let me tell you: racism exists. Racial profiling and discrimination still happens. That's great if you don't discriminate but when what's happened here seems to happen much too often, it becomes more and more obvious that something else might be going on. —KurtRussell