\u201cLondon calling!\u201d<\/p>\n
A swanky hospitality brand\u2019s plans for a new hotel and exclusive nightclub in Midtown mark the latest in a growing British invasion<\/a> of NYC nightlife.<\/p>\n Minor International \u2014 which owns the Wolseley, a posh restaurant in London\u2019s Piccadilly Circus, where an afternoon tea service runs north of $65 \u2014 is renovating the landmarked Lambs Building for its latest project, expected to open next year.<\/p>\n It\u2019s part of a growing number of exports from across the pond. A private club company from London, Maison Estelle, is reportedly setting up shop in Flatiron as soon as next year. And Annabel\u2019s,\u00a0a posh British club known for catering to royals and celebs<\/a>, is opening a NYC branch a few blocks away.<\/p>\n The front entrance of The Wolseley restaurant in London\u2019s Piccadilly Circus. Getty Images<\/p>\n Minor International is taking over the former home of the Chatwal Hotel on West 44th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. The 10-story, 75,000-square-foot establishment is expected to offer the same kind of luxury that the Wolseley in London \u2014 which Minor bought in 2022 \u2014 is famous for.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the hospitality group \u2014 which is actually based in Bangkok, Thailand, and has establishments around the world \u2014 declined to share pricing or other details about the new \u201cmembers club,\u201d which will be inside the hotel. The hotel will be the first to get the Wolseley name.<\/p>\n Whatever form the club takes, it will inherit a rich historic legacy.<\/p>\n Built in 1905 by notorious Gilded Age architect Stanford White, the space was designed as a clubhouse for a theater group that counted Charlie Chaplin, Fred Astaire and George Gershwin<\/a> as members.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the group, called the Lambs, has not occupied the building for about 50 years, the latest tenants called on that legacy to draw customers for years. The Lambs Club Restaurant & Bar, once known as a spot with \u201cretro glamour,\u201d<\/a> closed over the summer.<\/p>\n Minor\u2019s CEO Dillip Rajakarier seems keen to continue the tradition, saying in a statement: \u201cWhat excites us most is bringing together people who might not otherwise find themselves in the same room: founders and artists, producers and investors, hoteliers and philanthropists, established voices and emerging talent.\u201d<\/p>\n In that vein, the hotel is planning on holding literary salons and hosted dinners, though potential debauchery in the club remains to be seen.<\/p>\n The outside facade of the soon-to-be Wolseley Hotel New York in Midtown Manhattan. Stephen Yang<\/p>\n Ben-Josef Group Holdings, a New York-based developer and property owner, acquired the building for $53.2 million\u00a0last October, according to Hotel Investment Today<\/a>.\u00a0Minor took over London\u2019s Wolseley from the original operators, Corbin & King, back in 2022. Details of the lease were not immediately known.<\/p>\n A 2022 photo of the Lambs Club Restaurant in the Chatwal Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Stephen Yang<\/p>\n The city\u2019s British newcomers seem to have an eye for local history. <\/p>\n Maison Estelle is reportedly taking over a Gothic Revival church that once was home to the infamous nightclub Limelight<\/a>. Wealthy clients will have access to the space that formerly housed drug-filled foam parties \u2014 and guests like Andy Warhol.\u00a0Membership at Maison\u2019s London outpost runs about $7,900 a year, though the US cost is not yet known.<\/p>\n The company is turning the 19th-century site into a full service restaurant<\/a> in addition to a club, the Commercial Observer reported last week. <\/p>\n Last summer, Upper East Side residents reportedly freaked out<\/a> when Maison tried to get a liquor license for a terrace to throw parties amid a quiet stretch of townhouses, prompting the club to set up in Flatiron, instead.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Annabel\u2019s is set to open in a landmarked factory building<\/a> on Hudson and West 13th Streets \u2014 with a rooftop pavilion for private club members, natch.<\/p>\n A group of people livin\u2019 la vida loca at an unnamed club. deagreez \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n