Flyfish Club, which sold memberships via NFTs, lands in NYC
A private dining club that sold $14 million in memberships through NFTs early this year has leased its first space.
Flyfish Club has landed 11,000 square feet on three levels at 141 E. Houston St., a new office building being developed on the site of the former Sunshine Theater by East End Capital, Grandview Partners and KPG Funds.
Flyfish was founded by VCR Group restaurateur David Rodolitz, entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, celebrity chef Josh Capon and chef Conor Hanlon — with membership through non-fungible tokens purchased on the blockchain and now resold on Opensea.io.
These resales bring in an additional 10% fee, and provide capital for the build-up and other private events for the members.
Rodolitz said in a statement, “We chose this location because of the dynamic neighborhood, the beauty of the building and the shared vision with ownership for the future of the member clubs.”
According to VCR’s website, the Flyfish Club will have a “bustling” cocktail lounge, an upstairs restaurant and outdoor space.
An “intimate” omakase room will additionally feature a menu created by Masa Ito, a partner with VCR Group in the Ito restaurant, and entered via a separate token. Here, members are only allowed one guest, which is the same for regular members in the cocktail lounge. But diners can bring a number of guests depending on table size and reservation.
Last year, Rodolitz told Nation’s Restaurant News that he held back some of the tokens to ensure they weren’t all snapped up by foreign collectors for investment but who wouldn’t attend their events or the restaurant, which is expected to open in late 2023 .
Diners must pay for their meal with US dollars and is another reason why the founders want active members.
“I have another set of tokens that, if necessary, I can sell, I can gift or collaborate,” Rodolitz told NRN. “I could give to developer partners … I can make sure that people who want to enjoy it and use it will be there.”
According to Rodolitz, they have so far sold 1,294 regular memberships and the club has reserved 1,423 and 318 omakase memberships with 67 reserved by the club. Tokens started at 2.5 Ethereum ($8,400 in January) and are now listed for 3.5 Ethereum, or $5,390, to as much as 150 Ethereum, or $190,170 — and provide access to the restaurant and cocktail lounge.
The Omakase token was first offered for 4.25 Ethereum ($14,300 in January) and is now being offered for as much as 22.8571 Ethereum, almost $29,000 – giving access to the exclusive space.
Tokens can also be “leased” per month, providing income to members.
Both the Flyfish Club and the building were represented by Richard Skulnik and Lindsay Zegans of RIPCO Real Estate. Sources said the rent was $225 per foot on the ground and less for the lower levels.
“We built 141 East Houston to attract visionaries like Gary Vaynerchuk and David Rodolitz,” said Jonathon Yormak, founder and managing principal of East End Capital. “Flyfish Club, much like our tenant, Solana, is a leader in the blockchain ecosystem, and the decision to open the first club at 141 East Houston speaks volumes.”
Designed by architecture firm Roger Ferris + Partners, the property’s four remaining office floors have an asking rent of $115 per square foot.
