Party in Aisle 8!
Under the fluorescent lights and produce banners of Seafood City Supermarket, an unlikely dance floor opened for over a thousand Chicagoans Friday night. Inside this Filipino grocery store in the North Mayfair neighborhood, the aisles were packed with crowds waving Philippine flags, children perched on parents’ shoulders and partygoers dancing to club classics and Tagalog ballads like “Bakit Pa” between displays of produce and packaged noodles.
Music thumped throughout the store while, just a few feet away, a whole lechon pig slowly roasted for sale — the aroma of crispy pork filling the crowded scene.
“It’s like walking into the Philippines,” said DJ Mikey “Jukes” Jucaban, who performed Friday night.
Seafood City usually closes at 9 p.m. But over the weekend, the market stayed open all night long as DJs and party hosts transformed it into a late-night dance party. Late Night Madness is a viral pop-up experience sweeping the nation, with late-night takeovers in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Seattle. But this weekend marked the first time the Filipino supermarket phenomenon came to Chicago.
The sold-out event drew nearly 1,700 people on Friday and another 1,700 Saturday, said Chicago store manager Sol Uson.
Some attendees sported shirts reading “Fabulous Filipina” and “I Heart Pinays.” Others dressed as mascots for Jollibee, the beloved Filipino fast-food chain that has a location inside the store.
At one point, the crowd erupted into a chant that echoed through the aisles as music by the Black Eyed Peas pumped out of the speakers: “Filipino, Filipino, Filipino, Filipino.”
Having a party at a supermarket meant dancing next to cabbage and eggplant in the produce aisle — or slipping away from the packed dance floor to cool off near the fish balls and frozen seafood.
Along the sidelines, parents and titos and titas, Filipino aunts and uncles, watched the Late Night Madness unfold. And young kids darted forward whenever organizers tossed candy, shirts and snacks into the crowd.
Midway through the night, host Mikayla “Swiper” Delson grabbed the mic.
“Suka, suka shot o’clock!” she shouted.
She and other organizers circulated through the crowd carrying bottles of suka — Filipino vinegar — encouraging revelers to take a nonalcoholic shot and keep the party going.
“It’s almost like you’re going to a debut, which is like our Filipino 18th birthday (parties), or like someone’s wedding,” she said. “Filipinos love the party. So giving a reason for them to party, it’s just amazing.”
Delson, a Chicago native who now lives in Southern California, has attended most of the Seafood City pop-ups across the West Coast. But she’s proud to bring the Filipino party back home.
Seafood City, the largest Philippine grocery chain in North America, is known for its Filipino cooking staples, fresh seafood and in-store eateries like Noodle Street, Crispy Town and Jollibee. The Chicago location opened in 2016 in North Mayfair, a neighborhood home to one of Chicago’s largest Filipino communities.
Although Chicago is home to one of the largest Filipino populations in the U.S., the city lacks a defined Filipino American neighborhood, Delson said.
Instead, Chicago’s Philippine cultural hub often lives in the food aisles of Seafood City.
“We don’t have our own designated neighborhood (in Chicago), but food brings everyone together,” Delson said. “So honestly, (Seafood City) opening up parties like this is like a hub. It’s gonna be the new hub in Chicago. I already know it.”
Seafood City Chicago is also the only location across the entire Midwest, Uson said.
On a typical shopping day, Seafood City is Chicago’s one-stop shop for Filipino food and ingredients, like bangus (milkfish), longanisa (sweet sausage) and Mang Tomas, a popular sauce. This weekend, it offered much more.
From 8 p.m. to midnight, the supermarket buzzed with line dancing, breakdancing and high energy. And all ages were welcome, a true multigenerational event, Jucaban said.
“It really gives the opportunity for all generations of Filipinos to come together in one place and just have a good time and party,” he said. “From 6 years old all the way to however old, Filipinos like to have a good time.”
The person Jucaban was most excited to perform for was his 6-year-old daughter, who joined the crowd of Filipino Americans on Friday.
Growing up in Chicago, Jucaban said, he didn’t experience Filipino party events like this. Now, he’s proud to help create them for his daughter and the next generation of Filipino Chicagoans.
“It’s an amazing thing to see, because it’s not anything that I grew up with,” he said. “I think it’s cool for (my daughter) to see just how much our community comes together because I didn’t have that growing up.”
Along with Jucaban and Delson, DJs Cher and Errge performed Friday night. Saturday’s event featured a lineup of Chicago sports DJs for a sports-themed party promoting the upcoming Windy City Bulls Filipino American Heritage Night on March 14.
After 10 p.m. Friday, Seafood City dimmed its fluorescent lights, creating a more club-like atmosphere in the grocery aisles.
Even as the dance floor filled, checkout lines remained open and employees stocked shelves for the next day’s shoppers.
After the weekend’s success, Seafood City Chicago is already planning its next party. Uson said the store hopes to host Late Night Madness events every three weeks.
“It’s something different,” Uson said. “Not every grocery store has this. Only us.”
Seafood City Supermarket, 5033 N. Elston Ave., 773-295-1658
