Breakfast Clubbing #58
Week of June 2: BC is ON in PDX,Boulder, Barcelona, Williamsburg, Miami, CDMX, SF, DTBK, DC, Manhattan, Cincy and SOMa. PLUS: Cannes Lions BC. Come hang.
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.
The headlines are not great. No One Goes to Happy Hour After Work Anymore, per Slate.
The young, they don’t want to get caught up. The old(er), they don’t want to get caught out.
I think for what’d be worst for most Breakfast Clubbers is that they’d get caught unaware.
Which is why the whole point of this little thing of ours is to just let it happen, cap’n.
No requirements (except pay for what you ordered). No qualification required. No prior experience expected. No pitches. Just show up and have a little chat. Over coffee, probably. Eggs, maybe.
Fries, if you’re in Williamsburg. Muffins in Manhattan.
Everyone’s invited, especially you. Share away. And come hang. If not this week, another soon.
Ben
A few notes:
Breakfast Club is coming to Cannes. I’ll be here hosting a couple of days of discussions and explorations with friend from AdWeek and Not A Consultancy. Drop a line to me @
if you’ll be there.
And per Jeff Carvalho and Jesse Kirshbaum on the very active BC MIA WhatsApp Group:
Hello Miami Beeakfast Club!
With Miami in full Summer rundown with most denizens exiting the city, we’ll pause the official Breakfast Club and restart after Labor Day.
Regardless let’s keep the group vibrant and for anyone looking for some coffee during the break just reach out.
Looking forward to MIA’s return, and to seeing Jeff and lots of others in the meantime.
Breakfast Club This Week: PDX,Boulder, Barcelona, Williamsburg, Miami, CDMX, SF, DTBK, DC, Manhattan, Cincy and SOMa
Tuesday, June 3rd
Boulder, CO
Co-hosted by a host of regulars in Joy Shure’s absence.
9a @ Proud Mary
Portland, OR
Co-hosted by Nina Sers
9a @ Proud Mary
Wednesday, June 4th
Barcelona
Co-Hosted by Kevin Maguire and Nicole Ingra
9:30a @ Caravelle
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 @ Mendl
Thursday, June 5th
London
Co-Hosted by Victoria Gates-Fleming and Agalia Tan
9:30am @ Foyles Café on Charing Cross Road
Washington DC
Co-Hosted by Michael Hastings-Black
830am @ The Line Hotel in Adams Morgan
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, June 6th
New Jersey (SOMa)
Co-Hosted by James Friedman
9:15a @ Arties
Breakfast Club Upcoming
Breakfast Clubbing Last Week
BC was on in PDX,Toronto, Williamsburg, Miami, CDMX, SF, DTBK, Manhattan, Cincy and SOMa
Breakfast Club CDMX Report 5.28.25
Per Steve’s post: “Oh yeah I took one of her anxiety slash sleeping pills and I slept for like 30 hours. One of those serotonin re-uptake inhibitors?”
“SSRIs.”
“Yeah one of those.”
“Oh it’s great. The fewer milligrams you take the more it helps you sleep, weirdly. I got my scrip from a psychiatrist but it’s OTC here.”
“Annnnd what’s it called?”
“Mirtazapina. I feel like a drug dealer lol.”
“Wait so how do you know Erin?”
“Oh I met Erin’s husband at a cocktail party and we went river camping a few days later and I smoked the wrong weed and almost drowned and was saved by a pilates instructor from LA.”
“Oh of course.”
“I hear your documentary came out?”
“Yes! Escapé de mi Esposo. Absolutely insane story. You know the Tinder Swindler? Well here in Mexico we had the Estafador de Bumble.”
“Wait is this about those flyers with the word CHEATER that have been put up all over Condesa?”
“No! What?”
“Tell you in a sec.”
“No this is about a woman whose husband imprisoned her in her own house and took away her cell phone but she managed to contact a friend who literally drove to the house and helped her flee the armed guards.”
“Ohhhh shit.”
“The guy with the cheater flyers has like syphilis or something. My friend, a former Mormon lesbian expat, used to date him.”
***
Today we were seven, including Maru M. Iglesias, Mark Holthusen, Liz, Rodrigo, Kristen Zwicker, and Tara!
We do this 8:30am every Wednesday @ Mendl, join us if you're in town!
Everybody's invited, especially if you have SSRIs to share.
Breakfast Club Williamsburg Report: 5.28.25.
Per my post: At my end we talked about arriving just in time to order, compliments and affirmations, Blondie, Bloc Party, the tennis center at Forest Hills as the best music venue in NYC, the Smile, Big Thief, Weird Al Yankovic in 2015, prohibition-era tunnels, fasting everyday except for Breakfast Club, teens going to Gov Ball, Saya Gray, having BIG kids (and littler ones), saving your Marriott Bonvoy points for your teens, introducing children to corporate loyalty programs, being an A- vs C+ points guy, brands we are irrationally loyal to, [BC LA West host] Scott Donaton, The New York Times, The New Yorker, NPR, Hellmann's vs Sir Kensington's, Kraft Heinz Ketchup, American Express, Digitas North America, Wieden + Kennedy, SXSW 2005, Adult Swim], MIA, Hot Chip, Ratatat, Metalocalypse, Cheeseburger, music supervisors, shifting agency roles, leaving advertising for disaster documentary, Smartless, The Washington Post, and Tribeca X among other things.
James sent notes that the other end got into discussing sheer men’s underwear, Fort Tilden lap swimming, Witchcraft and Internal curses, only dating models, the Future of HR (or lack thereof), Preservatives and End of Life Preservation, the Downfall of Tony Hsieh and Ren Faire.
And by fluke-ish luck the phone taking attendance recorded the middle of the table talking about Shanghai being full of just scooters, climate change, public waste disposal, recycling, Coca-Cola and fascinating archaeology.
Eric Korsh, Eric David Johnson (aka DJ Bunny Ears), Lee Baler, Dan Burt, Mary Gail (MG) Pezzimenti, Ben Jenkins, Nick Bodor, Peter Droste, Ian Edgar, Charles Bane III, James Outlaw, Jasmine Takanikos, allie dietzek, Marina Garcia-Vasquez, Carlos Chiossone and me
We do this every Wednesday at Le Crocodile Restaurant, starting at 8:30a, and everyone's invited - no RSVP necessary. Especially you. Come hang sometime.
Info every Monday about BC globally at the Breakfast Clubbing newsletter here:
https://lnkd.in/eZi3f42n
and
Linkedin Group here: https://lnkd.in/eHAWrG6n
Breakfast Club Manhattan Report 5.29.25
Per Heidi’s Post: If I don't post first thing I end up losing momentum. Im sorry for that. We were a great group like always! Thursdays Eva's Kitchen. All are welcome especially you.
Breakfast Club DTBK Report 5.29.25
Per Kat’s Post: Our small and mighty crew was full of all regulars today! Nothing like the power of a weekly ritual to truly embody the meaning of community.
Thanks to Eric Korsh Jasmine Takanikos Nicole Nejati Patty Marando Allison S Chen Daniel Keenan Matt Cohen for making it out on yet another abysmal New York May morning.
We talked about - how making friends is done differently across the country, “The Official Preppy Handbook” and the rise of preppy fashion on the East coast, our go to favourite breads (Eric Korsh is partial to a “slightly raw” rye and “doesn’t understand” focaccia lol), pay as you wish loaves, spaces with multi pronged programming (cafes by day, wine/music experiences by night), paying your rent in cash in NYC, missing restaurant life and the business of gathering people it, the parallels between F&B and theater, the early iterations of open kitchens e.g OG Momofuku Noodle Bar, the stress of doing on the fly retail math when working the cash wrap, classic NYC tourist sights/sounds New Yorkers don’t even see/do, modern communes/compounds, the mindset when living abroad (going all-in or figuring it out as you go), buying travel insurance for long trips consensus - its actually worth it), how humor gets us through difficult times, learning valuable content tricks from the Savannah Bananas, the force of swimming in the ocean alongside whales, which allergy treatments are legit (tips anyone?!), how BK kids grew up quicker, more exposed to adult culture than other countries, Breakfast Club Field Trips (coming soon - holler if you want to join!) + Breakfast Club merch (Ben Dietz LOL)
What did you talk about on your end? Tag/comment below!
Join myself Lynn Juang and Marina Garcia-Vasquez every Thursday at 8:30am in the lobby inside of the Ace Hotel / Atelier Ace. Everyone's invited, no RSVP necessary, just show up. No ice breakers or agenda, no pitching. Everyone's invited—especially YOU. A forever thank you to Ben Dietz for sparking this community.
All the info lives at https://lnkd.in/eyvtRq7Z or join the LinkedIn group here: https://lnkd.in/eHAWrG6n
Breakfast Club SOMa Report 5.30.25
Per James’s Post: We had another killer Breakfast Club in SOMa this morning.
Every week a great crew of regulars and some newcomers get together for a bite and some coffee. No agenda, no pitches, no networking. Just a chance to connect in real life, share some ideas, inspiration, and a few laughs.
The conversations are wild and wide-ranging. I overheard only a fraction of topics and the breadth was bananas:
bike lane beef, skateboarding after 40, what happens when your kid works at the weed store, first dates, becoming a middle-aged influencer, getting married young and getting married old, Berlin in the 80s, becoming a German real estate mogul when the Wall fell, kids who commute, vet meds, Tim Robinson’s Friendship, group chats, coaching sports, and Cinco De Mayo (the Mexican restaurant/punk venue in New Brunswick NJ not the holiday)
We do this every week at Artie's in Maplewood NJ.
Everyone is invited.
Especially you.
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]
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
Vegas
Enjoying all that has been discussed and the first insights shared on how people show up. A good reminder to be self aware of how one meets and connects with others wherever they may be at that moment. Hoping there’s a breakfast club in Cape Town later this week when we travel there.