The Matrix Club, a live entertainment venue, banquet hall and restaurant, was evicted Thursday from its Naperville location at 808 S. Route 59 just two and a half years after opening.
Ajay Sunkara, vice president of property owner Project Naperville 808, said The Matrix owes his company “upwards of a million” dollars in unpaid rent and liens filed by vendors.
“As a landlord, we were responsible for those liens,” Sunkara said. “There’s still a few liens that we’re working on but yeah, it’s a mess.”
Stacie Chase, a vendor who did work for the 75,000-square-foot venue, visited the site Wednesday and saw staff moving furniture out of the building.
“I was shocked,” Chase said. “I actually went in to confirm details for an event on Saturday and make sure our load-in times were all correct and when I went in, people were removing items. It was a complete surprise to me because I was contracted for work this weekend.”
Sunkara said his problems with The Matrix’s owners started with unpaid rent about 18 months ago.
“October 2024, we sat with the partners of The Matrix and (we’re) like, ‘Hey, you know what, this is not looking good, you guys need to come up with a plan and whatever you want us help you with, we’ll be ready to do that,” Sunkara said.
He was told by the partners that they would come up with a payment plan and fix their finances, but that never happened, he said.
“We haven’t received a single check after that,” Sunkara said. “So finally, January 2025, we had to file a case.”
An eviction order was scheduled for Dec. 30, 2025, but the business owners would not voluntarily leave the property, he said. The DuPage County sheriff’s office had to step in to forcibly remove them at 9 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 12.
While Sunkara said he does not know the full details of The Matrix’s financial situation, he did note that the club “has been busy.”
“We see a lot of parties happening, pretty busy, so I don’t know what’s happening … but as for what we know, they haven’t been paying us rent,” Sunkara said.
There were more than 30 bookings scheduled at the time of the eviction, including a dance competition that had been scheduled for Friday.
KimMarie Peterson, owner and artistic director of Dance Dimensions, said the competition, which draws hundreds of dancers, was moved to The Matrix in January due to an issue with a previously booked venue. On Thursday, they had to inform participants that the event was again being postponed and moved after learning of The Matrix’s eviction, she said.
“It was kind of shocking,” Peterson said. “I’m just amazed. Everything I heard was, ‘This was the place to be. This is the hottest new thing going around.’ … Nobody in my circle anyway had any idea that it was closing.”
Naperville Central High School and Oswego High School planned to hold their proms at The Matrix this year but will need to seek new locations.
When asked if he was surprised by the company’s financial troubles, Sunkara said, “yes and no.”
Madan Kulkarni, one of The Matrix’s managing partners, previously operated a similar banquet hall called The Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows, but was evicted from that property as well several years ago, according to Sunkara.
“Same thing happened with Meadows Club,” he said. “He did not pay enough. I don’t know if it’s rent there or mortgage there, and he was evicted from the premises. That’s when he approached us.”
Despite this history, Sunkara said he believed in second chances and thought that Kulkarni had a solid business plan for The Matrix.
Kulkarni could not be reached for comment by deadline.
The venue opened in September 2023, about eight months after the owners initially announced it would be ready. At the time, Kulkarni said the delays stemmed from unexpected supply chain issues resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Several local schools booked the venue for prom, including Neuqua Valley in Naperville and Metea Valley in Aurora, and were forced to change venues because construction was not complete.
“Prior to their closing, I knew that they were working to try and get things worked out with a different scenario,” including the possibility of getting a court order that would allow them to stay open, Chase said.
She was among those waiting on payments from The Matrix. The company was “working with us to resolve their back due debt but they were making it in payments,” she said.
“I think they were doing their best to spread around what they could, but they just didn’t have enough to maintain all of it,” Chase said.
Following the eviction, Sunkara said he hopes to find a new partner who can fill the event space. He’d already had five banquet hall operators express interest in just 24 hours, and he hopes they’ll be able to sign a contract by next week and the space in business again by mid-spring, he said.
“There was a little bit of vandalism done during or before the eviction,” Sunkara said, noting that some items were reported missing.
According to Naperville police Cmdr. Rick Krakow, officers Thursday observed “extensive damage to the interior of the business,” including “damage to televisions, walls, glass, etc.” The value of the damage is not yet known.
“Pieces of artwork, with an estimated value totaling over $25,000, were reported stolen,” Krakow said. “These crimes are believed to have occurred sometime between the late-night hours of Feb. 11 and the afternoon of Feb. 12.”
The incident is under investigation and no arrests have been made.
Sunkara also noted that deposits were made to vendors following the eviction notice so police investigators are also looking into the possibility of financial fraud, which Krakow confirmed.
cstein@chicagotribune.com
