Experience the thrill and excitement of Your Place Diner’s re-cap of their first annual amateur night competition.
Saturday night April 20, 2024 was filled with excitement and suspense as two finalists from the Amateur Night competition at Your Place Diner (YPD) went head to head, to see who would be declared the winner and take home the grand prize of $1,200. And because this was the first annual amateur night competition at YPD the night was historic.
Moreover, the event was hosted by Emily a.k.a. Emm-J or Emmy and her Instagram handle is “Urmomemmy”. Before the two competitors took to the stage Emm-J explained the rules to the audience and made sure that everyone had scoring paddles so they could participate in the voting. Each competitor got a chance to perform two songs each for two rounds. After both songs were performed the audience would hold up their voting paddle to vote. Each scoring paddle had a “5” on one side and a “10” on the opposite side. Emmy would count the votes from the audience to get a total number of points. Then the other competitor would sing her two songs and then have her votes counted as well. The same thing for the second round. The judges had a difficult time choosing the winner because both young ladies performed well and had the crowd all into it.
Furtherly, if you have been following this event for the past two weeks you saw the competition get narrowed down from ten competitors all the way down to the final two. This was the finale and it couldn’t have happened on a better night as it was “4/20”. A coin toss decided who would perform first and S.A.Y. won the coin toss with tails and elected to go second which meant Dreezy Baby had to break the ice with the crowd and go first.
Dreezy Baby’s first song in round one was “Game of Love”. S.A.Y.’s first song was titled “2 A.M.” As the night went on the competition got more intense and both competitors had their eyes on that grand prize of $1,200. Crowd participation was very much a part of the final outcome because as Mr. D stated, “The audience votes matter”.
In attendance that night was Tom, owner of Nina’s Natural Cocktails, who sponsored the event. Tom was the person responsible for the big cash donation of $1,000. In the words of Emmy, “He is the one who made that prize money extra juicy!”.
The owner of Your Place Diner is Dwayne Nelson better known as Mr. D and what a gracious man he is! He greeted everyone with a genuine smile and if it was your first time visiting Mr. D would walk you to wherever you needed to go and make sure you were comfortable. The lower level is where the amateur competition was held and what a lively place it is. Mr. D’s motto is “There’s no place like Your Place because Your Place is just like home.”
Conveniently, located at 5510 Virginia Ave, St. Louis MO 63111, Your Place Diner is not just another eatery or restaurant this is a place that makes you feel at home. Every employee who works there makes you feel like you are a part of a family and the atmosphere is awesome. The outside of the place will make one think that it’s just a quaint bar and grill with an adjoining room with tables and booths for when there’s an overflow of guests dining in. But nothing could be further from the truth because there is more space around the back of this cozy vibrant place.
Because it was my first time visiting, Mr. D. walked me around back to a gorgeous spacious patio adorned with plants and a nostalgic fireplace. Then he walked me downstairs to an area set up for performances decked out with a fully stocked bar. This was the space that the amateur competition took place. I got a chance to be a part of something special which was the first official “Amateur Night” and I got a chance to see two talented artists go head to head to compete for the grand prize of $1,200. Your Place Diner is part of the Dutchtown community and is making its mark in St. Louis as being the place to be.
In closing, did I mention, that the food is great! Neighborhood residents also attest that the food at Your Place Diner is amazing. The bar is fully stocked with plenty of wine, beer and specialty cocktails to choose from. YPD is a St. Louis family owned restaurant specializing in soul food.
#AmateurNightCompetition #YourPlaceDiner #GrandPrize #HistoricNight
