CONQUEST! Norwood

Last night, DBTH stormed the gates of Norwood to check out the lay of the land. No, we are not a member. No we don't consider ourselves to be trespassing thieves either. We were what most people you see inside a private club are: an invited guest. So what did we find? Not much. But not in a bad way. Confused? We are too. Basically Norwood is a converted townhouse on 14th Street. There are four floors.

· First floor is check in, lower lounge and drawing/parlor room, and out back is a traditional English garden.
· Second level is the restaurant, empty when we got there, empty when we left. The menu was full of hearty winter dishes, very similar to what you may find at the Waverly Inn these days. We would eat there.
· Third floor is the upper parlor room, with a bigger bar, more couches, and a piano. A band was set to start a bit later in the evening to entertain the small crowd.
· Fourth floor is the screening room, a very small place that seemed quite utilitarian. There were screenings of the new film Entrepreneur last night.

That, dear readers, is all there is to it. Why we were there? Well, that's none of your bees wax. However, it did involve absinthe and that's all we're going to say. We learned there are about 380 active members so far with the hope to grow the list to 600 over the next year. The place is apparently quite busy during the week and over the weekend is used as a meeting place before going on to bigger and better things. The members we talked to are happy they have joined, but wouldn't all members say that? At least as first. The rooms were warm and cozy, and the bar selection was choice. Consider us willing to go back, but undecided on accepting a membership.

Norwood In Action

Norwood, that bastion of high society members only club on West 14th Street, inspired a bevy of comments last week. But more on that another time. Another Little Birdy, also not a member, stopped by this weekend and snapped this dark, blurry photograph from inside the joint. Honestly, we can't really tell what we are seeing here. It looks kind of empty in there, with a lot of guys wearing sweaters. Kind of like that club that Dan Akroyd was banished from in Trading Places. But isn't that what you are paying for when you join? It is, it is.

Norwood? Norwood?

Speaking of crappy private clubs - we check in on Norwood, the "private members club providing a stylish and comfortable meeting, eating and drinking haven in the heart of New York City to a sophisticated and international clientele of influential opinion-formers in the creative arts world." Right. Set to open in the Andrew Norwood House (get it?), the anticipation for this club hasn't been building since New York ran an item about it in April. Hoping to rival the very successful Soho House model, Alan Linn, an ex-manager of a London club, has quietly opened his West 14th Street club. First reports are quite negative, with a Little Birdy telling us. "Went to Norwood on Saturday. Not cool. Lame. Dead Empty." Pow pow pow.

We're cheering for Alan and the entire Norwood team, but we have our doubts about this one. Besides the obvious douchebaggery of private clubs in general and their lack of a full service hotel and pool, this is just a place where the public can't come in and spend money. But it is a place where you can pay a membership fee to sit in a room and chit chat. Who wouldn't want that?

Super Supper Club?

Yesterday, Page Six the Magazine had an article by our good friend and contemporary .Joshua David Stein peering into the oh so exclusive and utterly boring realm of the Supper Club, the new members only party circuit put together by London socialite Tamsin Lonsdale. Once every so often, these private little groups pop up, and like clockwork quickly go away. You know why? Because they are utterly unnecessary. You may think its big, but socially, New York City is quite small. Everyone knows most everyone (excluding yours truly), and when you travel to LA, London, Vegas or Miami, its more of the same. Adding Facebook, ASmallWorld and the rest of the so-called social networking communities to the mix just makes these private clubs irrelevant.

So why do they continue to exist? Because corporations see them as the perfect luxury marketing tool. Tamsin explains so herself. Get 1000 rich people on a list, invite them to parties, and hope your brand catches on. Does it work? No. But it is impressive that this counts as work for some people. More power to you. But after paying your membership fees and being seated at a table at Nobu with 12 guys from UBS for a Supper Club event, you will probably wonder what happened to the exclusivity you were promised. Our guess is back in London, having champagne coolies at Boujis and laughing about it with the old world folks on the other side of the pond.