Ideas for Community Social Club

Submitted by thestopsign t3_1246pf1 in WorcesterMA

Hi Reddit,

I moved to Worcester late last year due to my SO getting relocated here for work. I'm slowly adjusting but so far I have actually really enjoyed life in Worcester, it has been good to move back to New England as someone who grew up in Maine. That said, like any time you move to a new city, it can be a bit intimidating to make new friends and really connect with the local community unless you already have a network of friends and family in place. I have worked a standard office job for 8 years but with this move, I have gotten to experience the WFH life which has blessed me with some extra time to think creatively on my own.

My idea is maybe crazy, it is fueled by a number of different inspirations I've had from reading non-fiction books like Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Communities and from how my friend group is currently structured through Discord and a series of clubs. The general gist of it would be a "Social Club" that bridges the physical world and our disconnected anonymous digital world by having a physical flex space to do a wide array of community activities, clubs, game nights, etc, and a digital forum (imagine an organized Discord server for now) to stay in-touch when not at the physical location. Right now, I think a big problem with our society is the general lack of a "Third Space", somewhere other than work or home to socialize, relax, or pursue our hobbies/interests with others. Then when we do meet someone at a Third Space, there is no good way of developing that social connection further.

My first conceit was to have a bookstore that sells alcoholic beverages and provides spaces to read or hang out. This has been done before to some extent, there are multiple examples of bookstores that have integrated cafe-style counters to sell coffee or other drinks. Bedlam Books kind of already has this vibe.

The second iteration is to do the above but also provide a community flex space on nights/weekends that is essentially a community-run Guild with monthly/yearly guild fees to put on events ranging from movie nights, board games/card game nights (including MtG drafts or other more specific types of events), book club meetings, run clubs, trivia nights, wine tastings, karaoke, specialty beer club, etc. Paying higher monthly fees might get you extra perks like planning/leading specific activities, having personal beer steins every time you come in, getting a free drink once a week, or having new privileges on the Discord server.

I'll finally get to why I'm posting this on Reddit, if you are still with me thanks for bearing with my rambles. I have a few questions for the Worcester community:

  1. Would you be interested or potentially join this "club"?
  2. Where in or around Worcester would this work best geographically?
  3. Do you have any improvements or ideas that could improve upon mine?
  4. Would this business be sustainable without alcohol or would it have to be based around a bar?
  5. What would be some concerns?
  6. What does the Worcester community need in terms of "social" services?

If I do put something like this together it would be my first foray into entrepreneurship so I'm really just swinging blindly here and pitching ideas, it's only in the conceptual phase right now. Making this post may even be stupid but I'm excited for feedback. Feel free to DM me, I have a lot more thoughts on this that I didn't include in the post because I am already rambling.

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Comments

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Aeschere06 t1_jdycx0g wrote

I’d be down. A third place would be nice. Not sure how it’d work, but sounds fun. Somewhere near city center would probably work best, somewhere easy to go by bus in case a member doesn’t have a car or something

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NativeMasshole t1_jdyowfo wrote

Just FYI, the law allows you to consume (not sell) cannabis at your club if you make it members only. The Summit Lounge on Water St is based on this concept.

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thestopsign OP t1_jdyu5jx wrote

Replying to NativeMasshole (#2,408,882)

Interesting, hadn't heard of this place. Sounds like it has some of the same ideas implemented around smoking. I'm not that interested in the act of smoking itself but the community aspect seems cool.

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jpm01609 t1_jdzn8er wrote

stand on a street corner and hold a big sign that says "will you be my friend?" hand out flyers maybe

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powsquare t1_jdzpyo2 wrote

So you want to:

  1. Meet friends
  2. At a third space
  3. With coffee or alcohol
  4. Then keep in touch
  5. Through social media
  6. Planning events together
  7. And possibly have a clubhouse eventually

You have just described starting a band with strangers from the bar.

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thestopsign OP t1_jdzwxht wrote

Replying to powsquare (#2,413,655)

Not really a band. The idea that anyone could tie into an existing community infrastructure is way different than meeting a random person or two at a bar and staying in touch, not to mention how rare that is in my experience. Those tend to be very loose social connections outside of rare instances.

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ManTheStan188 t1_je0aauc wrote

This reminds me a lot of Redemption Rock, right off Shrewsbury St. Brewery that also has a huge events side with something going on pretty much every night. Maybe reach out to them and pick their brain about how they got started, restaurants have a huge rate of failing within the first 5 years, get all the advice you can before you spend any money!

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Unlucky-Boot-6567 t1_je0btwz wrote

Just go hang out at Redemption Rock or something and join a board game. Bit harsh but people can do / are already doing all the things you’re describing at a brewery without paying a membership to hang out in a space.

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jmc500 t1_je0lk2l wrote

I love your idea and I've had a similar thought, where it seems like our society really needs a sense of community. Yes we have our discord groups, or fb groups where we are part of a community, but the anonymity is really hurting us. With the decline in religion and church, I've been toying with the idea of a community "church". This idea is similar to yours, except that there would be a community-based driven aspect. There would be a sense of gathering. People could come together for a mission (to help others). In your idea, it still seems like there would be separation of smaller groups and less of a community aspect. So, I'm not totally sure it would holistically bring everyone together. It would almost be just a rental space for events. Keep on brainstorming. You are onto something and keep us posted.

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your_city_councilor t1_je0o5qy wrote

Sounds good. It would be good to have a place to hang out in Worcester at night that isn't a bar, especially now that every coffee shop is open for only like an hour each day, closing before it's even dark.

I don't think it really matters where in Worcester, since the city is so small that it is easy enough to get from one place to another quickly.

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saintmusty t1_je0rang wrote

Might as well start by joining the official unofficial Worcester discord server pinned to the sidebar

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