Moss Promises A New Style Of Members Club In Midtown Manhattan

Once a relic of a bygone era, members-only clubs have seen a surge in recent popularity. Nowhere else in the country has embraced the boom quite like Manhattan. Since the pandemic, there have been nearly a dozen high-profile openings across the city, each one offering its own carefully cultivated brand of elegance and exclusivity – accompanied by sizable initiation fees.

The latest to enter the landscape is Moss, part of a geographic shift in the trend towards Midtown. Occupying five stories – and 40,000 square feet – worth of space in 520 5th Avenue, the newcomer seeks to stand apart from the crowd with a focus on health and wellness. This incorporates multiple floors dedicated to aquatic fitness and athletics as well as multiple food and drink spaces. Its main restaurant, Babette, features conscientious cuisine as conceived by chef Angela Zeng, formerly of Frenchette – an enduringly popular bistro in Tribeca. An ambitious wine program is led by Kristin Courville, formerly the lead sommelier at The Bazaar by José Andrés.

All of it unfolds across a comfortable interior that combines the sophistication of Art Deco-inspired furnishings with the effortless comfort of a SoHo loft. And it’s offered with relatively modest member fees – by Manhattan standards: initiation costs start at $1500 with monthly dues as low as $480. Taken together the brand forms a distinctive whole that its co-founders Colleen and Hailey Brooks have coined as “intelligent leisure.”

We sat down with the folks behind Moss to learn more about the concept, along with what members can expect to eat and drink while hiding away from the midtown masses.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Let’s start off with the basics. How do you define “intelligent leisure?”

Colleen Brooks: “Intelligent leisure is our vision of thoughtful and thought-provoking programming—an open invitation to gather friends and play with ideas. Inspired by historic creative and intellectual communities, Moss events range from art exhibitions and musical performances to interdisciplinary salons and supper clubs. They’re a chance to pull up a chair for an evening, lose oneself in the conversational flow, and think differently.”

When you began developing Moss, what role did food and beverage play in your vision of “intelligent leisure?” Was it central from day one, or did it evolve alongside the club’s wellness and cultural programming?

Hailey Brooks: “It was always an integral part of our vision for the club, and we think it touches both our intelligent leisure and physical culture ethos.

Tell us more about that physical culture ethos.

CB: “Physical culture is the art of integrating movement, balance, rest, and a bit of competition into your daily routine. It speaks to the fundamental human desire to gather together to exercise, nourish, and celebrate the body in all its forms. Our Physical Culture programming is housed at our two-level Bedrock Aquatics & Athletics, which offers 20,000 square feet for individuals and groups to pursue the physical and social sides of fitness, wellness, and athletics.”

HB: “Food embodies a similar duality to the club. A dining experience can be just as mentally stimulating as it is nourishing. It truly represents that mind-body balance we’re always talking about.”

How do you see food and drink helping foster community within the club, especially among members who may not come from the same worlds?

CB: “It’s no doubt fine-dining, but our food is always rooted in the comforts of home. You should feel like you’re in your own space with your own private chef. We want it to feel like a classic New York City dinner party amongst friends, every time.”

HB: “In general, it’s all about sharing and sparking conversation, including about the food. We think everyone will recognize something familiar and comforting on the menu while also encountering something new and interesting. This applies to our bar program, too. Every ingredient in our cocktails is meant to spark interest and connection with and between our members.”

Tell us more about that beverage program and what kind of unique cocktails are being constructed.

Kristin Courville [wine director]: “We work closely with our bar manager, Raul Zavala, to create deeply integrated menus across our dining and bar programs, using the same ingredients. Our collaborative cocktails follow the same Spanish essence as the wine program. With my rich background in Spanish wines, I love to incorporate Spanish wines and spirits like sherry, Pacharán, and cava into our cocktail offerings. Angela also uses our wines in her cooking, as does our pastry chef, Taylor Kim.”

It feels as though there’s an emphasis on drinks that can move easily between day and night; for example, beverages that feel appropriate post-workout but still work at a dinner table. Was this intentional?

KC: “We purposely chose spritz selections for lighter daytime drinking, martinis for evening, and non-alcoholic options with ingredients like coconut and green juice for hydration, with post-Bedrock recovery top of mind. At Moss, the beverage program is designed the same way our programming is designed: with intention and narrative. The drinks aren’t simply offerings at a bar; they’re part of how the club expresses its identity as a thoughtful, creative, and socially generous space. Our non-alcoholic cocktails, in particular, have become a signature of the program. They’re not stand-ins for classic drinks, and they’re not treated as a separate category. They’re original compositions built with the same care, structure, and sense of occasion as everything else on the menu. By giving non-alcoholic drinks equal footing, we remove the quiet social pressure that often exists around drinking while preserving the ritual, elegance, and pleasure of having a beautifully composed beverage in hand.”

Chef Angela, were there any ingredients, techniques, or categories you chose to prioritize because they aligned with Moss’s focus on physical culture and longevity?

Angela Zeng: “Maintaining our dedication to sustainability, where ingredients are carried throughout the different dining and beverage spaces, is very important to us. We’re always challenging ourselves and our teams to make one ingredient stretch across many items; our back-of-house learns to stretch budgets and get creative. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, but find practical and delicious ways to cut down on food waste, which we think is especially important in a city like New York.”

How closely do you listen to member feedback when evolving the menus, and how do you balance that with maintaining a clear point of view?

CB: “We listen very closely. Being part of a members club, it’s essential to listen to your members. All of our menus are designed to be adaptable and flexible for food sensitivities and preferences. We strike a nice balance between providing a wellness-minded menu and honoring our flavor profiles. We’re constantly fine-tuning and tailoring our offerings to what our members want and need, and we try not to be too rigid about what we offer.”