The food and beverage industry, which is still struggling, has a new financial model: the world of blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs.
Two New York-based restaurant groups are now raising funds through individual “NFT” memberships, or irreplaceable tokens usually associated with digital artwork.
Think of it as a 21st century version of a country club or trendy Soho House. Access to the club (or restaurant or bar) is a one-time fee and gives you access to groups of people like you. The restaurant also gets a percentage of each future transaction each time the NFT is bought or sold.
Brooklyn Chop House, scheduled to open in Times Square next month, will begin NFT membership in the subseller space on May 1st. Side dishes can be published exclusively.
Membership (purchased with the cryptocurrency Ethereum) ranges from $ 8,000 to $ 1 million. Most memberships have access to the space, much like a private club membership. But a $ 1 million NFT comes with a quarter of the restaurant’s ownership, Stratis Morfogen, head of operations at Brooklyn Chop House, told Side Dish.
There is also a $ 20,000 Gold membership, including prime and guaranteed bookings for up to 20 people per month. Platinum membership is $ 100,000 and includes additional benefits such as round-trip driver pick-up and delivery orders from the airport to the hotel.
“The NFT market started with art and music. It wasn’t designed for restaurants. We’ll change that to create a digital version of a private club — in Metaverse but in Times Square. Like the Soho House, “said Morphogen.
The news follows last month’s report that serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk’s VCR group will open a fly fishing club. Billed as the world’s first NFT private dining club, the Flyfish Club has not signed a lease and will not open until next year. Still, VCR CEO and veteran restaurant owner David has generated over $ 14 million in NFT sales. Rodolitz, founding partner of the Empellon Restaurant Group, tells Side Dish.
He said sales of $ 14 million through Ethereum were rapid, with a small pre-sale in December and a sold-out on January 7th, with 1,501 memberships.
Since then, more than $ 23 million has been generated by resale in the secondary market, Opensea. This is known as NFT’s eBay. Rodolitz speaks exclusively to Side Dish.
He added that the VCR has already earned $ 2.3 million in additional revenue as it has earned 10% of all transactions.
“Every NFT author decides the percentages and the market decides whether they are right or wrong. For the first time in the hospitality industry, I felt that 10% was justified,” Rodolitz said. I am.
“We are finding new ways to do business,” Rodritz added. “Because membership is bought and sold in the secondary market, there is an ongoing loyalty component in addition to the pre-sale component (sales of membership).
Membership clubs have existed for a long time, of course, but Rodritz said the industry is now looking to NFTs for a new spin on this practice.
The Flyfish Club seafood-inspired concept was created by Vaynerchuk, Rodolitz, and renowned chef Josh Capon, VCR Chief Culinary Officer.
The restaurant isn’t open yet, but the Flyfish Club has already begun a hands-on experience for members, including pop-up champagne and caviar cruises in Miami.
“I was delighted and surprised by the feeling of this community gathering around restaurants that didn’t exist yet,” Capon said. “It’s really inspiring to see how people are connected … we’re trying to do something innovative to help our industry and ourselves.”
Both restaurant groups use the cryptocurrency Ethereum.
The Brooklyn Chop House, a fusion of fine steakhouses and Chinese cuisine such as Peking Duck, already has a celebrity cult in its original FiDi location. Regulars enjoy crispy eggplant dishes while dining with actors Kevin Hart and Jamie Foxx, singers like Mary J. Blige, sports stars like Julius Randle of Knicks, and recently a friend, Newark Mayor Las Baraka. Includes Mayor Adams of Veggie Forward. Morphogen tells Side Dish that some patrons are already interested in purchasing an NFT membership for a subseller club in the new Times Square location.
The Flyflish Club is a seafood-centric dining club exclusively for NFT token holders, including a cocktail bar and outdoor space. In addition, a limited number of Omakase tokens will be added to the private Omakase room curated by Michelin star sushi master Masanori Ito, which can be accessed by a small number of token owners. (The VCR is also operated by Ito, an entrusted style Japanese restaurant led by Ito and Kevin Kim.)
As of Monday, Flyfish membership was trading at 4.88 tokens ($ 12,735), and more limited Omakase Flyfish membership was trading at 13.49 tokens ($ 35,140), Rodritz said. ..
Morphogen adds that a real-world place is needed for cryptocurrency millionaires to gather.
“There is a huge community of cryptocurrency millionaires who just interact with each other,” Morphogen said. “Many of them are exchanging NFTs from their bedrooms and buying things in the Metaverse. We make the most of both worlds and provide them with a place to meet,” Rodolitz said. Added to. “You’ll see lots of real-world projects based on utilities, not just digital files. Anyone who has done the best utility-based NFT projects ever in all industries, especially the hospitality industry, I don’t think. We worked hard to be the first. It’s very exciting. “
I’ve heard … this weekend of Presidential Day, the designer Rebecca Minkoff Start pop-up and VIP dinner at Jima CardosoThe charming red room of her restaurant, Snow Lodge, at the St. Regis Hotel in Aspen, a sister store of Montauk’s Surf Lodge. Red Room — In the caviar and champagne lounge and piano bar, Bob Moses Other — Released on Valentine’s Day.Cooking director Robert Sibert’s Popular American-style formulations include caviar cannoli and white chocolate macaroons with caviar, which have a distinctive sweet and salty taste. Siebert also serves more traditional dishes, including caviar potatoes, which are also popular in NoHo’s new trendy lounge, Nines. The Red Room features boho chic furniture and vintage rugs underneath a large disco ball.Dom Pérignon is served in a glass with high-end tequila by female owners like Casa Del Solby Eva Langoria..This season’s Snow Lodge celebrity guests included a Latin singer MalumaEven as Steve Aoki When Perry Farrell Of Jane’s Addiction.Caviar bar is taking off at elite hotspots including: Thomas KellerThe Bump Bar, a tasting room for the Regiis Ova Lounge in Napa Valley and the California Caviar Company in Sausalito, California. “Old school charm is back,” Cardosa tells Side Dish. “You drink, eat and dance — it has a supper club atmosphere. People come in for drinks and spend the night. Thankfully the uncertainty of COVID last year is gone. rice field.”
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