More details have emerged about the newest and possibly most ambitious project from local hospitality collective Consortium Holdings (Born & Raised, Morning Glory). The Reading Club & Seneca restaurant will open later this year on the 19th floor of InterContinental Hotel in downtown San Diego, offering a members-only social club and public restaurant with expansive bay and city views.
Nearly 3 years in the making, The Reading Club will be a modern, exclusive social club aimed at returning members to a culture centered around community, conversation, intelligence and humanity. Membership will be hand-picked by founders and based upon referrals going forward, and members will have access to an onsite restaurant and bar, meeting rooms, an outdoor rooftop terrace, and other quiet spaces with bay and city views, as well as gym access and private wellness classes at the InterContinental and other benefits at all Consortium Holdings bars and restaurants. Inspired by "Plato’s Republic, Seneca’s Rome, and the Socratic method", the space is designed by CH's new restaurant designer Taylor Leage and will have a library, a rare spirits and wine vault, various seating areas, and a central bar.
Although phones will be allowed at The Reading Club, taking photos will not be permitted. This rule is meant to encourage discourse and socialization in the moment, rather than furthering social media culture. The Reading Club memberships costs are not set in stone but it is believed they will range in price from $2,000 to $2,600 per year. Little is currently known about Seneca restaurant, but it is believed the eatery will be separate from The Reading Club and open to the public with an Italian-inspired menu. We reached out to Consortium Holdings Chief Information Officer Brian Eastman for comment and more information but did not receive a response by the time of publishing.
Started by Arsalun Tafazoli with the opening of Neighborhood in 2007, Consortium Holdings (also known as CH Projects) now has more than a dozen concepts scattered around San Diego, including cocktail-focused Polite Provisions, classy dive bar El Dorado, neighborhood bar & restaurant Craft & Commerce with adjacent tiki-speakeasy False Idol, two locations of its Japanese fusion restaurant Underbelly, modern barbershop Dover Honing Co., seafood-centric Ironside Fish & Oyster, bi-level steakhouse Born & Raised, Westfield UTC bottle shop and speakeasy Raised By Wolves, brunch-centered Morning Glory, and industry-focused East Village sandwich shop and Negroni bar J & Tony's Discount Cured Meats and Negroni Warehouse with neighboring coffee shop Invigatorium in partnership with San Diego's Modern Times Beer.
The group also has numerous additional concepts in the works in addition to The Reading Club, including a refresh of East Village's Neighborhood that is expected to be completed in the very near future. There is also a new concept once-rumored to be a second iteration of Ironside Fish & Oyster in the works for North Park, although CH representatives have since ensured that a completely different concept is planned for the space. Consortium Holdings co-founder Arsalun Tafazoli has also purchased the shopping plaza at 3401 Adams Avenue in Normal Heights, which sits across the street from Blind Lady AleHouse and approximately a half mile from CH's Polite Provisions. There is no word yet on what is planned for that space. Arsalun also took over ownership of Bar Pink in North Park last year and plans to convert the space to become a new cocktail bar dubbed Part Time Lover.
Started by Arsalun Tafazoli with the opening of Neighborhood in 2007, Consortium Holdings (also known as CH Projects) now has more than a dozen concepts scattered around San Diego, including cocktail-focused Polite Provisions, classy dive bar El Dorado, neighborhood bar & restaurant Craft & Commerce with adjacent tiki-speakeasy False Idol, two locations of its Japanese fusion restaurant Underbelly, modern barbershop Dover Honing Co., seafood-centric Ironside Fish & Oyster, bi-level steakhouse Born & Raised, Westfield UTC bottle shop and speakeasy Raised By Wolves, brunch-centered Morning Glory, and industry-focused East Village sandwich shop and Negroni bar J & Tony's Discount Cured Meats and Negroni Warehouse with neighboring coffee shop Invigatorium in partnership with San Diego's Modern Times Beer.
The group also has numerous additional concepts in the works in addition to The Reading Club, including a refresh of East Village's Neighborhood that is expected to be completed in the very near future. There is also a new concept once-rumored to be a second iteration of Ironside Fish & Oyster in the works for North Park, although CH representatives have since ensured that a completely different concept is planned for the space. Consortium Holdings co-founder Arsalun Tafazoli has also purchased the shopping plaza at 3401 Adams Avenue in Normal Heights, which sits across the street from Blind Lady AleHouse and approximately a half mile from CH's Polite Provisions. There is no word yet on what is planned for that space. Arsalun also took over ownership of Bar Pink in North Park last year and plans to convert the space to become a new cocktail bar dubbed Part Time Lover.
The Reading Club & Senaca are expected to open once onsite dining is permitted and will be located at 901 Bayfront Court atop the InterContinental Hotel in San Diego downtown bayfront. For more information, visit thereadingclub.com.
