Nick Jones launched the original Soho House in London in 1995 and it immediately became a home away from home for English it-people such as Kate Moss and the Gallagher brothers. In the 20 years since, Jones has expanded his members-only empire to nine cities: the first Canadian Soho House launched in Toronto in 2012 and this spring, Istanbul is next. Here, the guy behind all of the good times shares some of the secrets to his success, including why the whole "effortless" thing takes a whole lot of effort.
Relaxed doesn't mean lax
We try to have that relaxed vibe at all of the Soho Houses, but the reality is, to pull this off you need to be even more organized. Otherwise relaxed can just be sloppy and bad. We want relaxed to be as efficient and impressive as if you were in a posh, white-tablecloth place. The attention to detail is just huge for me and the disease is getting worse as I get older. Things weren't coming together precisely at the new House in Istanbul and I had to do a lot of butt-kicking. Another example was the House in Toronto. Before we opened, I came in to check up on everything. There was wood panelling on the walls and to me it looked like new wood that was treated to look like old wood. In other words – not the real thing. Authenticity is very important to us. We ended up finding the right wood at a church in New York. It was an expensive switch and the type of thing that very few people, maybe nobody, is ever going to notice. But I really believe that these small details make a project.
Branding by way of a roast chicken
I am definitely an instincts person. There are certain questions that I have found are useful for figuring a person out. When I interview a chef I will always ask "If I gave you a chicken, what would you do with it?" If they answer that they would cut it up, stuff the breast, poach this, do that, no, no. That would be a one-minute interview. The correct answer is cut a lemon in half, shove it up the cavity, season it and put it in the oven for an hour. That idea of excellence and simplicity is a big part of how we do things at Soho House. That said, I have learned over the past few years, that if you want to attract the best talent, you have to give them some freedom. Let talent be talent. We have a brilliant new chef in New York now. He's one of those rock 'n' roll tattoo chefs and he's definitely doing things that I wouldn't have imagined and I'm thrilled. I guess it's balancing that core identity with an openness to creativity.
Don't avoid mistakes, just fix them
When we opened Soho House in New York, we made a mistake, which was loosening up on our membership restrictions and letting in a lot more of the suit-and-tie crowd. I took my eye off the ball and the club turned into a very nasty place to go to. I take full ownership of that. That is both the best and worst thing of running a business – everything is on you. I try not to let fear of mistakes be a big influencer in the decisions I make. I think the better philosophy is to stay on top of things and fix the things that aren't working. That's what we did with the New York House and that's what we are always trying to do. Opening new clubs like we are doing in Istanbul is very exciting, but it's just as important to keep my eye on the existing Houses and make sure they maintain the same standard.
Passion over pennies
My hobbies have always been eating, drinking and napping and that's what I do for a job, which has worked out pretty well. It may sound cliché, but that's what I always tell people: follow the passion, not the pennies. As I get older I'm running out of steam a bit with the late nights. I still enjoy a party – I wouldn't have gone into this business if I didn't. It's just that crawling into bed at 3 a.m. is no longer an option. I'm up at 6, my meetings start at 7.
This interview has been condensed and edited by Courtney Shea.