By invitation
Off
Hours.
For people devoted to their craft and curious about everyone else’s.
A private NYC circle where members take turns opening their worlds — the kitchen before service, the studio between shows, the lab after hours, the site before it opens.
Different worlds. One small group. No panels, no pitches, no weird name tags.
Access, not networking.
Off Hours is a small group of people who are each excellent at something — and willing to let the others in.
Not another dinner with interesting strangers. The chef brings the group into the kitchen. The architect walks everyone through the building before it opens. The artist hosts in the studio. The scientist opens the lab. The founder shows the product before the world sees it.
The dinners hold it together. The open doors are the point.
It is small on purpose. The goal is not to collect contacts — it is to find the people you wish you had met sooner, and see the worlds you would never otherwise get into.
How it works.
8–12 people. Different disciplines. We gather every few weeks — sometimes around a long table, sometimes inside one member’s world.
Each season, members take turns hosting in their own domain: a kitchen, studio, stage, site, lab, workshop, newsroom, showroom, rehearsal room, or somewhere harder to categorize.
One opening question sets the tone — usually something like, “What can’t you stop thinking about lately?”
Invite-led, by nomination.
No panels. No pitches. No forced mingling. No “so what do you do?” energy.
The room matters.
What matters is real recognition: people known by the right people for doing something unusually well.
The best guests are impressive, but not insufferable. Curious, but not performative. Successful, but still alive to the world.
You might belong at Off Hours if…
- You are devoted to your craft.
- You are known for what you make, build, perform, design, cook, write, research, ship, lead, or shape.
- You have a world of your own — a kitchen, studio, site, stage, lab, workshop, company, newsroom, or room where the work happens — and you would be glad to open it to the right small group.
- You are curious across disciplines.
- You can hold a conversation without turning it into a pitch.
- You are more interested in becoming friends than collecting contacts.
- You have strong opinions, good questions, and a little bit of range.
- You are genuinely fun to sit next to.
What gets you
to the table.
Off Hours is for people with receipts: visible work, real stories, peer recognition, and enough social generosity to make a small room better.
Built spaces. Performed roles. Published pieces. Opened restaurants. Exhibited work. Released films. Designed objects. Shipped products. Started companies. Advanced research. Made culture a little less boring.
The bar is craft, recognition, and a body of work that speaks for itself.