CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio – A private, exclusive club for Bourbon lovers is set to open in April, and that’s no BS.
Take that literally. The Never Ordinary Bourbon Society – No BS for short – is set to open its doors officially in April, just more than a year since the folks behind Sapphire Creek Winery & Gardens bought ThornCreek Winery and Gardens and rebranded it into The Orchid House Winery.
Think special and swanky.
“It’s been on my radar to start a club like this for a long time,” said Kathleen Birkel D’Angelo, president of Tap Root Hospitality, managing company for all three venues. “Ultimately our goal is to have multiple locations with it. We just thought there was a real need to bridge the gap between a public restaurant and a country club.”
Grand opening is Saturday, April 6, for the private-members club located in Orchid House Winery’s basement. It has a hidden, speakeasy access, she said.
Expect a “Bourbon-centric” space with a variety of cocktails, wine and captain’s list, D’Angelo said.
“We’ll have full food menu and cigar humidor. The entire space is very high end. A lot of the furniture pieces were designed by Pininfarina, who is the Ferrari designer. It’s got a very high-end European look, but very comfortable at the same time.”
She added: “It’s really a place where people who love Bourbon (can) get together and socialize in a relaxed and sophisticated atmosphere.”
A poker room is a glass-enclosed space “with these incredibly cool, acrylic, lit panes made in Milan. It creates a really cool ambiance,” D’Angelo said, adding it can be converted to whatever guests want – to play poker or have a private dining space – “anything you want.” Another room has motorized curtains for additional privacy.
The experience will have “a Velvet Tango Room-feel to it,” said Leo Hines, director of operations, referencing the Cleveland cocktail bar.
Members will be able to choose from more than 400 bottles of Tequila, Vodka and Gin as well as Bourbon. Expect Blanton’s, Pappy Van Winkle, high-end Sazerac – Bourbons “that are hard to come by,” he said.
“Some of the distilleries down in Kentucky have releases that are specific to them … Things you can’t really find in your local liquor stores are what we’re trying to bring into the club,” said Hines, who joined D’Angelo’s team in July. He was regional director with Chef Art Pour Restaurant Group for eight years and before that spent 17 years with Bravo Brio restaurant group.
An interesting touch: Tap Root Hospitality acquired a cocktail printer that produces pictures using beet-carrot juice that land on top of cocktails. Frothy and other drinks like espresso martinis are perfect libation canvases.
“The possibilities are endless, really,” Hines said. “You just upload a digital image, and it will print it on top of the cocktail.”
To start, the members-only club will cost $1,000 (individual) and $2,000 (corporate). After the opening in April, membership fees will double.
“Members down in the club will have access not only to the Orchid House menu, but there will be exclusive items on the menu that will include oysters, caviar, some wagyu-beef options,” Hines said. “Some really cool stuff you don’t see at a lot of places.”
A members page will offer help from “Roxy,” an AI concierge, said D’Angelo, who said members will receive a monthly statement, so it’s more like a country-club payment method.
“It is a big expansion,” she said. “We spent the last year completely reworking Orchid House Winery from when we opened. We completely renovated the interior. We’ve got all new furniture; the rooms have all been redone. The menu is completely redone. And this downstairs space really takes it to a next level.”
In the end, she said, the No BS Club will be “unlike any other space you’ve been to.”
The Orchard House is at 155 Treat Road, Aurora. Sapphire Creek is at 16965 Park Circle Dr., Chagrin Falls, six miles to the north.