Hospitality Design - July 2015 - 171

2
3

1. A rendering of the
brick-clad exterior of
Little Hudson, located in
New York's Meatpacking
District.
2. The club will be
flooded with natural
light from large coppertrimmed windows.
3. The curved marble
bar will juxtapose with
the building's original
columns and exposed
brick.

are certainly on the rise in New York's
increasingly unconventional professional
landscape. And while upscale lairs such as
the private Soho House continue to foster
a sense of social exclusivity, Herrick and
Travis wanted to fill a void by conjuring
a retreat that seamlessly morphs from
obligatory workday to evening merriment.
Travis, who focuses mostly on the
space's operations and F&B, says there
is "tremendous demand" for motivated
tastemakers in search of nontraditional,
upscale work environments. "Right now,
they are working in spaces that just aren't
conducive to their lifestyle," he points out.
"The types of people Little Hudson will
attract are going to be here all day. They
want versatility."
To Herrick and Travis, that means a
space that inspires and rejuvenates. "There's
a successful way to combine your to-do list
with a bit of fun," says Herrick. "Here, you
can get an amazing breakfast, then work all

day in a private cubicle. At night, when Little
Hudson very clearly changes moods, you
can relax with a drink and the screening of
a film."
Embracing a hospitality approach,
wherein members will be plied with coffee
specialties and fresh-pressed juices ("people
want to eat and live healthy and they are
willing to pay for it," Travis points out)
and can dash off to appointments in one of
three onsite vehicles at their disposal, Little
Hudson will flaunt an intimate, bespoke
hotel vibe, with tiered membership plans
open to the first 1,000 folks.
But it's the striking building in which
Little Hudson is housed that truly makes
it distinctive. The last undeveloped one
standing in the saturated Meatpacking
District, it has lovely bones that "maintain
integrity," says Herrick, whose role tends
more toward the building itself. The original
columns, arches, and exposed brick add raw,
historic appeal, while a skylight and rows

of soaring copper-trimmed windows offer
natural light to cooped-up workers in need
of a pick-me-up. Likewise, the forthcoming
sprawling rooftop will offer a choice
hideaway.
After typing away at a hammered
metal desk, poring over documents in
an Eames-style chair, or catching up on
emails on a low couch (all imagined by
local designer Kristen Childs, also a Soho
House alum), craft cocktails await at the
curvy lamp-topped marble bar. "This isn't
the type of club where you have to wear
a suit, but it's elegant and tailored," says
Herrick. Combining exquisite service with
sexy features like Chesterfields will recall
such posh European establishments as the
Chiltern Firehouse in London, accentuated
by a jolt of "industrial flair," he says.
Little Hudson's members, Travis adds,
will be constantly "jetting off to photo shoots
and such. These are people who are never
fully at work and never fully at play." hd

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