EXCLUSIVE: The Gathering Spot private membership club debuts a 2nd Atlanta location
Cradled in West Midtown, Atlanta-based membership networking group The Gathering Spot has crafted a new addition to its roster of clubs, with the latest venture focused on wellness and building social connections within a relaxed oasis.
The new location, The Retreat by The Gathering Spot, has two floors in the Interlock building on Howell Mill Road, including a rooftop pool, indoor and outdoor event space, multiple lounge areas and panoramic views of the city.
“Our business is about people,” The Gathering Spot CEO and co-founder Ryan Wilson said in an interview. “It’s about community.”
Similar to previous locations, The Retreat also provides workspace, private offices and a restaurant and bar.
“The thing that’s exciting most about this for us is that it really is an opportunity for there to be a different type of connection,” Wilson said.
“This is gonna be an elevated experience, very hospitality driven and specifically curated in a way that, from a hospitality perspective, we’ll compete with any restaurant or any place that you want to go in town.”
Colorful artwork decorates the halls of Retreat, and shelves are purposefully organized with books on Black history and sociology from writers within and relevant to the community.
“The values haven’t changed here,” Wilson said. “We’re prioritizing the same things that we’ve always prioritized: connection.”
Wilson began brainstorming the idea of The Gathering Spot with co-founder and CFO T’Keel “TK” Petersen in 2013 after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the killing of Trayvon Martin.
“I started this out in a moment of real sorrow, to a certain extent,” Wilson explained, adding that he wanted to create a space for people to come together.
According to a nearly hourlong YouTube video shared by The Gathering Spot, Wilson watched every day of Zimmerman’s trial while he worked at a law firm before his second year of law school at Georgetown University. At the end of the summer and after Zimmerman was acquitted, Wilson said he was contacted by friends as to what they could do for the Black community in response to the verdict.
“I felt at that moment there was an opportunity to take (the issue) and do more,” Wilson said in the video. From there, he went on a complete career change.
“We’ve got to talk to each other. We’ve got to have places where we can connect. That’s (The Gathering Spot).”
The Gathering Spot’s original location, just north of Downtown Atlanta, hosts more than 500 events a year, from political functions to celebrity parties and small business events.
The club has expanded with physical locations in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Houston, and also has partnerships with private locations in New York, Chicago, Detroit and Charlotte. Members range in age from 21 to 93 years old. Community membership dues start at $300 annually and do not include access to The Retreat, which is $3,100 a year.
“We’re constantly looking for new ways to bring folks together,” Wilson said.
The Retreat will roll out a phased opening over the next month, starting June 18 and lead to an official grand opening later this summer. Prospective members can apply online.
About the Author
Brooke Leigh Howard is a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Black culture team, UATL.
