Members-Only Club Soho House Is Opening in Austin

Private social club Soho House is opening an Austin location on South Congress, as revealed by a brochure from real estate group Endeavor. The global hospitality brand’s first Texas facility is part of what is being dubbed as the Music Lane development between East Riverside Drive and Academy Drive. It will include a hotel, club, and public restaurant.

Soho House Austin’s future home is on the same block that used to house Sfranthor House of Wax, boutique shop Parts & Labour, and Doc's Motorworks Bar & Grill, all of which closed or relocated.

Soho House is members-only, leaning towards creative types, or as founder Nick Jones global members club, hotel and restaurant operators told Eater earlier this summer, “We wanted it to be creative and like-minded, and for people who were at ease with themselves.”

Unlike the hotel and club, Soho House Austin’s restaurant will include a restaurant touting what it calls a "unique dining experience and simple dishes made with seasonal, locally sourced ingredients." The restaurant will be open to non-members too.

If the other locations are any indication, the Austin version of Soho House will feature thoughtful, stylish Texas design. The spaces are being designed by firm Lake/Flato, which worked on

Members are selected by a membership committee. According to its website:

Unlike other members’ clubs, which often focus on wealth and status, we aim to assemble communities of members that have something in common: namely, a creative soul.

Application requirements include headshots and referrals from two current Soho House members. Once accepted, annual membership fees range from $1,050 to $3,200, determined by levels based on access to the different locations and age.

The house rules include no photography, cell phones or otherwise, and members aren't allowed to talk to people they're not familiar with. People who aren't members can only visit Soho House as guests of current members.

Other Soho House restaurants include branded chains Pizza East, Dirty Burger, and Chicken Shop. Then there are standalone restaurants, like French-Italian restaurant Cafe Monico in London, lounge/bar The Allis in Chicago, and Italian restaurant Cecconi’s in Brooklyn, New York.

The first Soho House opened in London by Jones, above his French restaurant Café Boheme, in 1995. It expanded to New York, Los Angeles, and elsewhere across the world.

Right near the future Soho House Austin is Hotel Magdalena from hotelier Liz Lambert and her company Bunkhouse Group. She just renovated nearby spot Austin Motel (which will include a new restaurant in partnership with McGuire Moorman Hospitality), Jo's Coffee, and other South Congress-area hotels.

(h/t Reddit)

• Music Lane Office [Endeavor]
• Soho House Austin [Official]
• Mixed-use development on South Congress to replace popular small businesses [Curbed Austin]