Exploring the territory between local and cosmopolitan, past and present, exclusivity and diversity, The 2300 Club in Church Hill is charting a course toward the future of private dinner clubs.
“Supper clubs throughout the country have lost their way,” says General Manager Austin Mill, who joined the staff in December of 2009. “They haven’t redefined themselves for 2010. We’re a private dining club that has found its way.”
Members of the Historic Richmond Foundation first opened The 2300 Club in 1964 with the purpose, as stated on the Club’s web site, of preserving, “the charm and grace of Southern tradition.” Originally located at 2300 E. Broad Street (now the site of Patrick Henry’s Inn and Restaurant), it was Church Hill’s only restaurant at that time, according to the Club’s conventional wisdom.
Today’s 2300 Club, housed since 1973 in a row of renovated 19th-century houses on E. Grace and 23rd Sts., maintains a retrospective gaze, reflected in its elegant period décor and formal, personalized approach to dining and entertainment. However, with the recent addition of Mill and Executive Chef Jason Houdek, The 2300 Club is adapting along with its surrounding community.
While regular dining at the Club is reserved exclusively for members, who also enjoy the privilege of membership reciprocity with a number of private clubs throughout the country and access to liquor lockers where they may keep their personal selection of libations, the Club is increasingly opening its Victorian doors to the general public.
Some regular events include art openings; seasonal wine tastings; historic dinners; and 2nd Fridays, which are monthly social networking happy hours benefiting a rotation of Richmond gay and lesbian charities. Non-members may rent the Club for events.
The Club is also offering a more updated menu prepared by Houdek, who became executive chef in May of 2009.
Ever respectful of the Club’s customary fare, such as the spoonbread that remains a favorite among members, Houdek routinely confronts the challenge of both preserving and updating the menu’s traditional elements.
He notes that meeting today’s culinary expectations through innovative cuisine is a key to attracting younger members, saying, “Menu options such as oysters, crabcakes, collard greens, and sweet potatoes are nothing new, but when made with varying techniques and additional ingredients they can become much more than what they appear to be.”
Currently holding membership drives, The 2300 Club is drawing the interest of some of Richmond’s younger residents.
Mark and Patrick Goad, who joined the Club last summer, explain, “The 2300 Club having members from a wide variety of backgrounds is a huge factor for us, as we do not want to be part of a homogeneous ‘country club’ atmosphere.”
