Small business owner fights for $135K after sudden closure of Chicago event supplier

CHICAGO - A small business owner in Georgia is seeking answers after Marquee Event Rentals abruptly shut down its Chicago branch, leaving what he claims is more than $135,000 in unpaid bills for work his company completed.

After Marquee abruptly closed its McCook, Ill. warehouse and shuttered its local offices on Monday, Sept. 16 – leaving employees in the dark – the fallout continues.

Now, a vendor is sharing his frustration, telling FOX 32 Chicago that he's owed big bucks in outstanding invoices.

Jake Mathis, the founder and CEO of Southern Reins Logistics, says he’s been fighting for months to recover the funds owed to him by Marquee, a once-prominent suburban party and event supplier.

"No one will answer the phone, they are dodging us left and right," said Mathis. "I’m fighting for the small guys that have small businesses, and it’s just not right what these guys are doing to us."

Prior to any major festival or event, it takes a village to put all the pieces into place.

"We’re just kind of the middleman facilitating transportation all over the country," said Mathis.

Mathis, based in Alpharetta, Georgia, began working with Marquee’s Dallas office late last year, handling transportation services for large-scale events and festivals. At first, the partnership seemed promising, with Marquee paying upfront for his services. However, when the company’s Chicago and Kansas City branches contracted him for more jobs — including transportation work for Lollapalooza — Mathis says payments stopped coming in.

"We have no red flags that stick out to us, well, then they just kept running up the tab," said Mathis.

Now, Mathis says he is left with more than $135,000 in unpaid bills for work his company completed over the last six to nine months.

"Then we just capped it all. We just said, ‘hey we’re done here, we need to see some payments coming in,’" said Mathis. "I know that Lollapalooza paid Marquee for their work, so Marquee’s got the money, they’re just holding it from us."

Contract work for Lollapalooza is just one job Mathis says Marquee hasn’t provided payment to Southern Reins Logistics for. Amateur golf events and other music festivals are also on the tab.

The business owner shared an email he received on Aug. 20 with FOX 32 Chicago. It came from Dan Farrell, formerly the vice president of Marquee's Midwest Region.

In the correspondence, Farrell wrote, in part:

"Our accounting team is aware of the past due balances with Southern Reins and is working through projections to get a better understanding of when payments can be made. We should have a payment timeline in the coming week."

More than one month later, though, Mathis says he still hasn’t received a check. He tells FOX 32 he has received no communication about his unpaid invoices, and efforts to reach Marquee’s private equity partners and financial advisors have gone unanswered.

Mathis also shares that he was stunned to learn Marquee's local warehouse in McCook is now shuttered. He says he never received notice of the shutdown.  

Just before the abrupt closure of Marquee’s Chicago branch, EventWorks announced it had acquired some of the company’s assets.

EventWorks dubs itself ‘the Southeast's largest event and wedding rental provider.’

Despite the buyout, Mathis remains in the dark. He says for a large company, the amount he is owed may not seem like a lot, but to him—it's huge.

"I’m a small business owner, I don’t have private equity, I don’t have investors, I don’t have millions and millions of dollars floating around," Mathis explained. "I have 30 employees, and those 30 employees have husbands and wives and kids that they’re trying to feed and put food on their table and that’s a big responsibility for someone like me to carry. So that’s why this hurts so much and that’s why I’m fighting as hard as I’m fighting because they have tons of private equity backing them."

FOX 32 Chicago called, left voicemails, emailed, and texted multiple executives and contacts at Marquee Event Rentals requesting a response to Mathis’ statements prior to the publishing of this report. Additionally, we reached out to Marquee’s private equity partner, Dubin Clark, and its financial advisor, G2 Capital Advisors. No responses have been provided.

Furthermore, FOX 32 contacted EventWorks – the company that has purchased some of Marquee’s assets – in an attempt to help get Mathis some answers, but the company did not immediately respond to our request for comment.