Breakfast Clubbing #57
Week of May 27. BC is ON in PDX, Toronto, Williamsburg, Miami, CDMX, SF, DTBK, Manhattan, Cincy and SOMa. As always: everyone's invited, especially you.
The Breakfast Club Esprit de Corps:
* Everyone’s invited - especially you.
* Feel free to share, bring friends, colleagues, family, anyone.
* No agenda, no required buy-in, no need to RSVP. And no pitches.
* Everyone pays their own way.
Hi all,
Short week, short intro. The regulars are all back this week, along with the Toronto monthly, the Vegas fortnightly, and recaps from all over the map last week. Enjoy - and a quick reminder to follow / subscribe :
Breakfast Clubbing IG here for regular updates and invites from around the world.
Join the Linkedin Group here.
See you at Breakfast! And if not this week, another one soon!
Ben
Breakfast Club This Week: PDX,Toronto, Williamsburg, Miami, CDMX, SF, DTBK, Manhattan, Cincy and SOMa
Wednesday, May 27th
Portland, OR
Co-hosted by Nina Sers
9a @ Proud Mary
Wednesday, May 28th
Toronto
Co-Hosted by Jared Gordon and Sarah Phillips
8:30a @ Boxcar Social Laneway
Miami
Co-Hosted by Jeff Carvalho and Jesse Kirshbaum
8:30a @ Novela Cafe Social
Brooklyn (Williamsburg)
Hosted by me and a gang of regulars
8:30a @ Le Crocodile at The Wythe Hotel
The Hamptons
Co-hosted by Mike Kilcoyne
8:30a @ Tutto Cafe
Mexico City
Co-Hosted by Steve Bryant
8:30am @ TBC (DM Steve)
Thursday, May 29th
Downtown Brooklyn
Co-Hosted by Kat Popiel, Marina Garcia-Vasquez, and Lynn Juang
8:30am @ Ace Hotel Brooklyn (Lobby)
Manhattan
Co-Hosted by Heidi Hartwig
9am @ Eva’s Kitchen on Grand
Cincinnati
Co-Hosted by Theo Erasmus and Emmit Jones
8:30am @ Mom and Em Coffee
Vegas
Co-Hosted by Steph Balzer and Julie Crisman
9am @ 🥞 Urth Caffe @ The District in Henderson
Friday, May 30th
New Jersey (SOMa)
Co-Hosted by James Friedman
9:15a @ Arties
Breakfast Clubbing Last Week
BC was on in Tokyo, PDX, Milan, Bucks County, Montreal, Williamsburg, Miami, CDMX, SF, Washington DC, Boston, DTBK, Manhattan, Cincy + SOMa
🇯🇵Tokyo x Breakast Club [Pop Up]
Amy’s Post: Around 38 million people live in the Tokyo Metropolitan area.
Its vastness holds so much magic but also makes these intimate moments mean more.
With thanks to my lovely co-hosts Madoka Suganuma & Lisa Ono
And brain dance buddies.
Nanako Aramaki, Kimberly Hughes, Kyoko Takeyama, CJ Hostetter
Thank you for a table full of topics ranging from identity, the very idea of “home” and how there runs a common thread through all of us that wander beyond our backyards.
Hint we’re curious and open as hell.
Breakfast Club Milan Report:
Charla’s Post: Another Breakfast Club Milan has come and gone, and what can I say? It was an impressive turnout of super creative individuals who brought a lot of positive energy and good vibes at 9 a.m., and that is no easy feat.
The setting was the perfect place to host our creative minds: Golab , which was currently housing an exhibition, L’arte del Dialogo, featuring Polish artists.
We do this every month at a different creative space around Milan. If you haven’t joined us yet, now’s the time to get in the loop. Trust me; you don't want to miss out on connecting with new people and starting your day fresh with new ideas.
Here’s a quick rundown of what I was able to overhear:
Meditation, AI, Naples football club 😅, Korean beauty, David Hockney, branding, climate change, Bergamo University CIID, Home parties, Polland, Italian food, wine, summer festivals, Pitti Uomo, members club, expat life, design strategy, Parsis culture, becoming a professor later in life, past life connection being found via Breakfast Club, artist management and development, the challenges and strategy of supporting creative talent. Names and their origins. Bassano del Grappa is the center of the world. What does one need to do to start a BC in their town? And Ben Dietz, if you can believe it, even hip replacements came up as one of our regulars, just had hers replaced.
Besides the great energy in the room, we also had some special guests. Nina Maturu joined us from our Washington, D.C. Breakfast Club chapter. Thanks, Michael Hastings-Black, for sending Nina our way. We also had the pleasure of having London-based abstract artist Hormazd Narielwalla PhD FRGS, join us. Last but not least, my father, Dennis Caponi , was in full effect, sharing life advice. It is what he does best.
Thanks to Giorgio Bartoli, one-third of my BC Milan co-host, for hosting today and to all the people who came through...Max Bosio Simone Polga Mako Onfermann Ben Pundole Hanna Ekeroth Christopher James Barrett Ilaria Cantù Alessandro Carnicella Maurizio Ribotti Lullu Brandt Sarah Baccenetti Andrea Bertinotti Del Monte Walter Marta Orsola Sironi Mauro Mattei ACA - TEP, to name just a few.
REMEMBER: We do this monthly in Milan. Everyone is invited. Especially you 🫵
Breakfast Club MTL (Pop-Up) Report 21.5.25
My post: Big shout to Erika Khanna for rallying on short notice to host Marcella Farman-Dietz and me for the inaugural BC MTLR. We talked about being an independent contractor, working from the breakfast spot, cafes leaving you hanging, operating a donut shop, pastries from JOE BEEF, the ways Montreal has changed, the trend towards neighborhood-indification, riding BIXI-Montréal bikes, the bitter end of winter, holiday weekends, the programming at C2 Montréal, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, CES, HUB Montréal, how AI is influencing immersive technology, working in consumer healthcare, industry specific ad agency support, consulting for brands, building AI products for compliance, Publicis Health, Havas, Grey, raining pizza, donuts and burgers, growing up in hospitality, Le Crocodile Restaurant, the Burger King Drawing Club, the late artist Jason Polan, the McDonald's with the grand piano in it, the new ‘emotional McDonalds’, the burgeoning trend toward hospitality in branded experiences, rules and regs, open air soulcycle classes, Peloton Interactive, the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, L'Usine de Spaghetti, Le Noviem, martini carts, Heni’s, going out to see live Jazz, intellectual wine, the Bekah Valley, Holder, L’Express, Milos, participating in the ‘Wednesday Economy,’ 22 at 22, cinq a sept, being the Texas of England, summer plans and lots more.
It was me, Erika Khanna, Philip Penalosa and Marcella Farman-Dietz
Erika will set the cadence and spot for BC MTL going forward soon - connect with her!
Breakfast Club Williamsburg Report:
My (other) post: Meanwhile back in Brooklyn: Eric Korsh did the reporting from BC Williamsburg in my absence. To quote his text:
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breakfast club 5/21
Eason Yang, Paula Herrera, Charles Bane III, Ben Jenkins, Nick Cogan, Joshua Rosenthal, Todd Sines, Peter Droste, Paul Greenberg, Ian Edgar [and] Eric Korsh
Self branding, LA Breakfast Club, Kris Jenners face, lazy writing, premium trash,
Mobland, naked people squished in boxes, Jon Hamm’s character in Friends and Neighbors being the result of his marketing expertise in Mad Men
The Brat Pack. Park Talk is technologies alienating force . The hard copy of our drawing is the Afikomen, The Tabernacle is lit
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Thanks, Eric! And to everyone else: we do this every week at Le Crocodile Restaurant at the Wythe Hotel. Everyone's invited, especially you.
Breakfast Club Hamptons Report:
Mike’s WhatsApp Message: From B[C] Club Hamptons.
Rockin’ and rolling every week!
Breakfast Club Boston Report:
Cass’s Post: Huge thanks to everyone who braved the nor’easter and made it to this month’s Boston Breakfast Club at the legendary Elephant & Castle. Great mix of folks across creative, media, agency, and sales — always a good reminder of how valuable these conversations are and the power of networking. Appreciate you all for showing up (one of these days I’ll figure out how to tag everyone!). Missed my partners in crime Elizabeth Millstein and Kevin Johannesen and forever a big shoutout to the man who started it all Ben Dietz.
Breakfast Club DTBK Report:
Lynn’s Post: Double header mega dispatch today from Breakfast Club as we play catch up from last week! As someone who needs routine but doesn’t actually have one, and having missed the last 2 weeks, it was so nice to be back in dialogue with old friends and new faces.
This morning’s cold spell was offset by the warmth of today’s crew and conversation, including: the importance of annual traditions, specifically a Memorial Day blowout that’s been going for 20+ years (happy early birthday Nick Cogan and a happy belated Donalee Curtis 🥳 ); *finally* putting IRL faces to names (hi Kenzo Minami Jefferson Finch 👋 ); why it still makes no sense to us Gen-X/elder millennials to make Very Big Purchases on our Very Small Phones; finding day-to-day purpose during midlife sabbaticals; building a new creative enclave on Havemeyer Street (watch this space!); the power of poetry to process labor & delivery; teaching kids the importance of friendship despite distance; what a coming-of-age party looks like today. (Also - not a topic, but an activity: live/onsite watercolor sketching by Maceo McNeff 🎨 )
Here’s what I missed out on last week: is it possible to commute from Oakland to the Mission sans car? 🤔; being part of a live performance for artist Asad Raza’s High Line plant walk for Frieze; creating safe abundant spaces in cities like Mexico City and now looking to Europe; building an art camp for Brooklyn kids and how to scale it to events and merch; divesting from mainstream media to support independent journalists and writers; Breakfast Club now being part of our morning rituals, along with meditation, yoga, writing, etc.
Thanks to everyone for putting on outside clothes and showing up for each other: Daniel Keenan Heather Gregg Joy Martinez Kate Hughes Danielle Fennoy Kenzo Minami Maceo McNeff Thomas Murphy Jevaun Howell Alex Wedel Nick Cogan Donalee Curtis Jennifer Rusk Claudia Pearson Lori Hamilton Hosanna Marshall Matt Cohen ari levine. Any folks/topics I missed, put 'em in the comments!
We (my lovely co-hosts Marina Garcia-Vasquez Kat Popiel and yours truly) do this every Thursday in the lobby at the Ace Hotel / Atelier Ace Downtown Brooklyn, 8:30-10:00am. No RSVP necessary, just pull up a seat and join us. Biggest thanks to the godfather of Breakfast Club Ben Dietz (h/t Kenzo) for making this a thing, and giving us the space to do our thing.
Breakfast Club Washington DC Report:
Michael’s post: DC Breakfast Club does a body good!
🥐
This morning we talked about Persian food & Eurovision. Teaching kids how to use a compass and how to make cocktails. The invention of drip coffee and scams as content. Ladies Who Strategize. The doldrums of RTO. Purposefully shooting pictures with expired film. The human factors of organizational efficiency. Finding beauty in everyday details. relish DC and neighborhoods = college campuses. Charming PBS murder series, The Ready and Swahili Technical Dictionaries.
🥐
We do this every other Thursday at The Line Hotel in Adams Morgan.
The next one is June 5th @ 830am.
Everyone pays their own way, there's no agenda or RSVP necessary.
Everyone's invited, especially you!
🥐
The crew today was Michael Smith Jeannie Rose Barksdale Atin Moridian Michael Hastings-Black Robyn Swirling Laura Pearlstein Mills Shane Hoffman Nate Barksdale Veronica Paz Soldan Rebecca Davis Latoya Peterson Deanna Troust Erie Meyer & James Boland.
Breakfast Club Cincy Report:
Theo’s Post: We talked about our favorite films including Blade Runner, The Thin Red Line, Sisters with Transistors, novels about pumpkins, Luddites, photography, La Scala, operas, middle brow tastes, Latino identity, tweed jackets, the charms of the English countryside, hitch hiking through Wales, the joyless nature of modern marketing, sound systems and art, always.
Jeff Kobberdahl, Emmit Jones, John Young, Art Hasinski, Jason Zwolinski, Adam Dewey Bowen, Ben Dietz, Jens Martesen, Theo Erasmus, The Rare Beast and Tina Gutierrez.
Breakfast Club Manhattan Report
Heidi’s WhatsApp Message: “Few late stragglers but also a nice turn out even in the rain. One poor woman new from Germany was lost and found us at the end. But always a lovely crew.”
Breakfast Club Melbourne (Richmond) Report
Penelope’s Post: It’s so good when you find your people. At Melbourne Breakfast Club we eat scrambled eggs, only scrambled eggs 🍳
The chats were wide and varied this morning:
🍳how to apply list-making and decision-making approaches to everyday ie a 12-point criteria for finding a husband
🍳are systems broken or are they actually working exactly as they were designed?
🍳Sovereignty / what is it, really?
🍳who owns anything?
🍳What does anything mean anymore?
🍳Dating processes with and without ai
🍳Summer reads that don’t exist in best seller lists
🍳Renewable data centres
🍳Impact funds and legacy actions
🍳The Power of connections to help find fun work
🍳intentions and manifestations as strategy
🍳MYOB solo proposition - how good is it? Is it good?
🍳Failure comedy
🍳The balance between being transparent and opening up your ideas
🍳living in the age of digital heckling
🍳the unique skills required to reverse an enormous truck, first time
🍳impacts of rainy season on roads in Myanmar
Thanks for the great chats today Jess Price Waz (Warwick) Peel Rod Szigeter GAICD Nathan Bailey
Jess Price is the next Melbourne BC host so look out for more details from her.
Breakfast Club Sydney Report
Elisha’s WhatsApp Message: Good turn out for Sydney this morning even in the torrential downpours!
Breakfast Club SOMa Report:
James’s WhatsApp Message: “Twas a good BC in SOMa this morning despite a smaller turnout due to schools being closed for an extra long weekend. Not only did me and another regular accidentally join another AM hang at Artie’s, but folks trickled in over the next 90 minutes for a fun hang. Some of what I heard being discussed: the dangers of permanent markers when kids are around, the jeopardy of expensive furniture, gymnastics, sanitizing everything, triathlons, having matching pets, the weirdness of returning to your old neighborhood in its new gentrified condition, the similarities of dating in middle school and middle age, could we relocate to the Caribbean?, reunions, is marketing creative?, “dog balls” as the ultimate punchline to reunite polarized comedy audiences, small schools, honey do lists, and much more”
Weekly:
Portland, OR [Tuesday]
Mexico City [Wednesday]
Williamsburg Brooklyn [Wednesday]
Miami [Wednesday]
The Hamptons [Wednesday]
San Francisco [Wednesday]
Downtown Brooklyn [Thursdays]
Manhattan [Thursdays]
SOMa, NJ [Fridays] Bi-Weekly:
Washington, DC [Thursdays]
Vegas [Thursdays]
Melbourne [Fridays, alternating between Fitzroy and Richmond]
Amsterdam [Fridays, alternating between locations East and West)
Monthly:
Boulder [First Tuesdays]
Barcelona[First Wednesdays]
London[First Thursday]
Burlington, VT [Second Mondays]
LA (West) [Third Fridays]
Vienna
Paris
Milan
Lugano
Portland, Maine
Philadelphia
Boston
Panama City
Seattle
Denver
Brighton
Singapore
Sydney
Bassano del Grappa
Toronto
Atlanta
Berlin
Ibiza
I was there at the Sydney Breakfast Club. Worth fighting the torrential rain to attend! It was a fun way to start the day.