Soho House Group will be opening its Toronto chapter this fall in a three-storey building at the corner of Simcoe and Adelaide streets, next to the Shangri-La Hotel.Pat Lynch / The Globe and Mail
Apparently in need of a social incubator, Toronto will soon welcome a private members' club dead set on nurturing the city's avant-garde.
Soho House, the decidedly cool global chain catering exclusively – sometimes controversially – to people in creative industries, is opening a Hogtown locale in late summer or early fall.
At the northeast corner of Simcoe and Adelaide, a three-storey building next to the soon-to-be Shangri-La hotel promises to become a hub for the city's radically creative, who are pining for an establishment that is "not for the executives of companies that use creatives – but for actual creatives," as one of the city's target members put it. Speaking on background, the Torontonian was tapped as someone with a feel for the area's creative pulse and last week met Soho's membership director, Markus Anderson, to discuss plans for the forthcoming venue.
Toronto already has The Spoke Club, also billed as a private members' spot for creative types. But the man who met with Mr. Anderson is convinced this is a different venture. A club where, he says, patrons know they'll be "surrounded by people who can engage them on a creative level." In London, it's where American director Quentin Tarantino might run into Dutch architect Ben Van Berkel, both reportedly members of the exclusive, members-only club. "The buzz is already building," according to another targeted member, who sees Soho's arrival in Toronto as a serious boost to the city's arts community.
Founded in London in 1995, Soho Houses are famous for culling anyone but the cream of the artistic class. The organization's reputation as a champion of the arts was cemented by a 2010 purge at its New York venue, where the owners grew uneasy with an expanding clientele that no longer identified with the club's roots. Hundreds of bankers, lawyers and others deemed too corporate had their memberships yanked, receiving mailed letters expressing condolences for rescinded privileges. It's that commitment to curating creative members that some find so appealing.
There's also the allure of entry into a global in-crowd. In addition to New York and London, Soho House has venues in Berlin, West Hollywood, Miami and Notting Hill among others, with expected openings in Mumbai, Istanbul, Chicago and Toronto. Billionaire investor Ronald Burkle bought a 60-per-cent share of the company last month for around $380-million (U.S.).
The Spoke Club president Pierre Jutras said it's "exciting" to see the competition open in Toronto. Mr. Jutras said both brands serve similar people, but while Soho leans toward "a transient super-high-end clientele," Spoke gears itself toward a more "under the radar" crowd of creative types.
Both clubs pride themselves on their curatorial standard. Mr. Jutras said "we're extremely rigorous about making sure you have an affiliation with the arts community," although one of the targeted Soho clients questioned that pledge. He finds that The Spoke has become a place for "all the people at the top of the pyramid but not those actually producing the work," and he hopes Soho can really hone in on the "cutting edge" crowd. Despite that criticism, Spoke's membership dues are actually cheaper at $800 annually with a one-time initiation charge of $500. Soho Houses generally charge between $900 and $2,400 annually depending on the member's age. (Soho offers two types of memberships, one that offers access to only the local house and one that provides entry to every house.)
And while the legitimacy of each clubs' elitism can be questioned, for Soho House Toronto anyway, Bay Street need not apply.