Behind the Curtain of Flyfish Club, NYC’s First Members-Only NFT Restaurant | Eater NY

"Located at 141 E. Houston Street at Forsyth Street, I finally visited the newly opened Flyfish Club, a three-story, 11,000-square-foot members-only space built on the former Sunshine Cinema site and developed by East End Capital, Grandview Partners, and KPG Funds with the club run by VCR Group (including Gary Vaynerchuk), chefs Josh Capon and Conor Hanlon, and CEO David Rodolitz. The club launched after raising roughly $14 million via NFTs years before opening but has since dropped its NFT-only requirement and begun selling real-money memberships that start at $3,500 for an individual ($4,000 with a spouse) with a $1,500 initiation for non-NFT joiners, while higher-tier buy-ins previously ranged from about $8,000 to $14,000. I learned that token prices once began at 2.5 ETH (then about $8,400), were later listed at 3.5 ETH (roughly $5,590), and even reached listings as high as 150 ETH, though tokens trade far less today; the club reports about 1,000 active members, roughly 100 people on a waitlist, and a goal of 2,500–3,000 members. Early blockchain members pay $500 yearly dues and receive a $500 food credit, and Rodolitz says the founders don’t automatically know NFT members’ identities until they reveal themselves. Designed by Garrett Singer Design, the space includes a restaurant, bar, private dining room, lounge, and an omakase counter in collaboration with sushi chefs Masa Ito and Kevin Kim, with a menu from Capon and Hanlon featuring a raw bar and sushi ($19 to market price), salads and small plates like whipped pumpkin hummus, lamb lollipops, and burrata with caviar ($18–$42), pastas such as lumache pomodoro with peekytoe crab ($36), entrees including salmon, halibut, tuna, short ribs, and a burger ($32–$42), and steak options at market price; the club also plans nightly live entertainment. " - Melissa McCart