Williamsburg gets the members' club it deserves.
They better fix the G train soon...
Good afternoon, everyone. Free letter today.
Last night I got drinks with Pia Baroncini at The Bowery Hotel (margarita for me, martini with olive and twist for her). There was a sweet moment when a young woman from the other side of the bar came over and approached Pia — she’s an avid listener of Pia’s podcast, and was going to one of Pia’s favorite restaurants for dinner with her girlfriends. I stepped outside and clocked countless tables full of women on the Bowery, already half-drunk on a Tuesday thanks to the warm weather.
Afterwards, I went to Zimmi’s for a dinner Ben Smith hosted for Semafor’s brilliant new Head of Communications, Rachel Keidan. For dessert, they served rice pudding with rhubarb. It reminded me that at a recent dinner, a friend told a story about how they got into an almost-physical argument over early spring rhubarb at Eataly last week.
Today’s newsletter includes: A Brooklyn boat regatta for those of you with 3D printers, a new members’ club in Williamsburg, last-minute cancellation wedding etiquette, and is Substack making you addicted to shopping?
Browsing and posting on the Feed Me Job Board is free. This week, roles include Prof G Media, Macy’s, and Ariel Okin Interiors.
Jamie Dimon thinks the American dream is dying. At the Hill and Valley Forum last week in Washington, D.C., JPMorgan’s CEO said that America has “become like Europe, we’re unable to move and change.” This week, the bank announced the “American Dream Initiative,” which aims to lend $80 billion over the next ten years to support small businesses, homeownership, access to healthcare, “and other economic priorities that Dimon believes are crucial for the well-being of Americans.”
From the Feed Me Tip Line: “Bilt is opening their version of the Capital One cafe in the Meatpacking District.” Upon further research, it looks like David Rockwell (The Eighty Six, The View) is playing a role in the design of the financial service cafe.
BoF reported that searches for shopping addiction have nearly doubled since 2020. US credit card debt has risen to $1.28 trillion, which is partially due to the rise in “Buy Now, Pay Later” options on shopping sites. In response, there is a new wave of “no-buy” and “marketing literacy” creators that are trying to educate their audiences on how shopping sites and media are designed and incentivized for them to consume more. I think about this phenomenon a lot while scrolling on Substack. Last month, Alyssa Vingan nailed a feeling I had while watching a specific corner of the internet manically shop for the new Chanel collection—it reminded me of the scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when families were buying chocolate bars en masse and tearing them open. “While it’s undoubtedly an exhilarating moment for an industry that’s felt stagnant, it’s also a bizarre phenomenon to witness Chanel being unboxed in such large quantities (and by so many people) that it might as well be fast fashion… Of course, a plaguing question is: How is everyone affording this much Chanel?” There are chats on Substack dedicated to flagging for readers new items to buy, which is partially a magazine-like service that writers are offering readers, but writers are also incentivized by brands or tech platforms like ShopMy to keep readers on the hamster wheel of shopping.
I didn’t realize cigarettes ever left.
As someone who sleeps with the soft hum of someone’s 3D printer running at night, I can tell you that I will probably be at this 3D-printed regatta in Red Hook in May. Pioneer Works is hosting, and remote-controlled, 3D-printed, and DIY boats are all invited to “take on an obstacle course along Red Hook’s picturesque waterfront.”
I wonder what the Bon Appétit team is cooking up. Earlier this year, June Kim was promoted from Head of Video for Bon Appétit and Epicurious to Executive Editor of both brands. This week, the food magazine posted a job listing for a Newsletter Editor and an Associate Cooking Editor. As new media companies like Caper and Gourmet and Cake Zine launch, and the NYT Cooking team holds steady, it feels like a good time for BA to run some new projects.
I agree with this person on X that Robert Pattinson has the only correct opinion in this clip. As part of the promotion for A24’s The Drama, A24 created a YouTube show (a lot of work to promote a movie these days, sheesh) where the cast gives advice to anonymous callers. One woman asks if she should drop out of her friend’s bridal party because she doesn’t like her. Most of the cast advises to have a tough love conversation, while Pattinson says to claim she’s sick. I think it’s getting a bit ridiculous to watch people be taught to value confrontation and boundaries so much, like it’s brave. It is insane to tell someone on the week of their wedding that you don’t like them.
From the Feed Me Tip Line*: “A ‘private club’ is opening in the old Urban Outfitters space on 6th Street in Williamsburg, Gary Vaynerchuk will be one of the owners.” After speaking to David Rodolitz, the CEO of Vaynerchuk’s hospitality group VCR, I learned that VCR will not be owning the club. “As CEO of VCR Group, I can share that we’ve been engaged by a global luxury brand to manage and operate a new members club concept at that location,” Rodolitz told me. “Our role is focused on culinary, hospitality, and overall experience.” VCR opened its first members’ club, Flyfish Club, in 2024 during the peak of the New York City members’ club boom. Flyfish Club’s membership costs are about $3,500/year, and if this club follows the same pricing, you can expect to see a surge in Colgate grads and entry-level J.P. Morgan employees. It will also probably be the perfect place for happy hours hosted by AI tax companies, that they will professionally photograph the event and then post on LinkedIn to prove to their VCs that they are “building community.”
*This item has been updated on 4/1 at 4:23pm ET with a quote from the VCR team.
OBVIOUSLY you go to the wedding you agreed to attend, and obviously you don't need to tell the bride you actually don't like her. And Robert's best take here was "you never know who you'll meet." Get drunk and dance and eat food and who cares
How are you in the BRIDAL PARTY of someone you don’t like??? Like maybe you’re a fake ass bitch and need to figure out how that happened