Breakfast Clubbing #87:
Week of Jan 12, 2026: BC is ON in PDX, Chiang Mai, Hudson, Philly, Williamsburg, Miami, Hamptons, CDMX, SF, Vienna, Portland ME, DTBK, Manhattan, DC, Cincy, Torquay, SOMa, and LA West
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,
There are a lot of benefits to having started the Breakfast Club boulder rolling a few years back, not least of which is being given some unearned credit for the work a HUGE community of people do every week, as they put themselves out there, opening up to the nervous dance of hosting strangers (and of course friends) in places all over the world. Case in point, Brittany’s post announcing Breakfast Club Chiang Mai - our second instance in Thailand:
“Almost four years ago, I decided to attend Ben Dietz ‘s "breakfast club" in Brooklyn after following his culture deep dive Substack for years. The concept is simple: there's a weekly time and place where strangers—primarily from the creative community—come together over breakfast. No agenda. No pitching. No sponsors. It’s the mutual decision to come—despite the discomfort of the unknown—that unlocks connections and conversations, even if just for that meal. If someone you know will be in Chiang Mai next week, please tag them below! I’ll be hosting hashtag#breakfastclub for the next 3 weeks and am excited to see who I meet 🤝🏼”
To be clear, BC Chiang Mai is all Brittany - I’m just a cheerleader. Still, it’s uniquely flattering to be invited to see people - accomplished, smart, well-respected people all over the world - submit to the uncertainty each week, and see what happens.
Suffice it to say, it takes a village. Britt’s a part of it and I’m stoked to see what Chiang Mai holds. And to look back on what last year held, too - courtesy of the BC Instagram crew, who made a little reel from recap photos here:
Hope it makes you smile like it does for me. That’s the vibe. Come check it out for yourself sometime time soon. Everyone’s invited. Especially you.
Ben
Breakfast Clubbing This Week:
BC is ON in PDX, Chiang Mai, Hudson, Philly, Williamsburg, Miami, Hamptons, CDMX, SF, Vienna, Portland ME, DTBK, Manhattan, DC, Cincy, Torquay, SOMa, and LA West
THE DETAILS:
Tuesday, January 13th
Portland, OR
Co-hosted by Nina Sers & Chelsea Place
8:30a @ Proud Mary
Wednesday, January 14th
Chiang Mai
Co-Hosted by Brittany Wengel
9am @ Klay Cafe
Hudson, NY
Co-hosted by Peter Spear and Mark DePace
8:30a @ Kitty’s
Philadelphia
Co-hosted by Julie Gerstein and. Kristina Dechter
8:30a @ Middle Child
Williamsburg
Co-Hosted by me and a gang of regulars
8:30am @ Le Crocodile
The Hamptons
Co-hosted by Adam Harris and Ryan Duffy
8:30a @ Tutto Cafe
Miami
Co-hosted by Jeff Carvalho and Jesse Kirshbaum
9a @ Novela Cafe Social
Mexico City
Co-Hosted by Steve Bryant
8:30am @ Mendl
San Francisco
Co-Hosted by Magali Charmot
8:30am @ Tereene at One Hotel
Thursday, January 15th
Vienna
Co-Hosted by Carla Moss and Laura M. Pana
Portland, ME
Co-hosted by Michele Martin & Lydia Wagner
8am @ Salt Yard
Manhattan
Co-hosted by Heidi Hartwig
9am @ Cecelia (St. Marks)
Downtown Brooklyn
Co-hosted by Kat Popiel and Lynn Juang
8:30am @ Ace Hotel Downtown Brooklyn (Lobby)
Washington DC
Co-hosted by Michael Hastings-Black
8:30am @ Line Hotel, Adams Morgan
Cincinnati
Co-Hosted by Theo Erasmus and Emmit Jones
8:30am @ Mom and Em Coffee.
Friday, January 16th
Torquay / Surf Coast
Co-Hosted by Steph Clarke
8a @ Bomboras
New Jersey (SOMa)
Co-Hosted by James Friedman
9:15a @ Arties
Los Angeles (West Side)
Co-Hosted by Scott Donaton, Anita Schillhorn van Veen and Kirsten Ludwig
8:30a @ Zinque
Breakfast Clubbing Last Week: BC was on in PDX, Williamsburg, Miami, Hamptons, SF, DTBK, Cincy, Seattle, LA (East), Vegas, Biarritz, Amsterdam and SOMa!
Breakfast Club PDX Report 1.6.26
Per Nina’s WhatsApp: “We had a big crew in PDX this week too! Chelsea and I are working on a venue change to shake things up and different breakfast options.”
Breakfast Club Williamsburg Report 1.7.06
Breakfast Club Williamsburg Report 1.7.26:
As per my post: From my perch we talked Iceland, trashcan cocktails, the best places we’ve gone, LIITs, beautiful places to die, not seeing gnomes, 5pm sunsets and SAD sufferers, Arizona’s daylight savings time refusal, living on the equator, leaving LA because of the weather, acclimating and deacclimatizing, eliminating weather from your mind, holidays in Guatemala, living through your friends, feeling culturally distant, consulting for agencies, being a pure play specialist, setting parameters with clients (and colleagues), hidden powerhouses, making it go viral, growing into your name, shooting from the hip, high-stress environments, trying to be everything, pop-up QSR, round 88 of decks, feeling good about 2026, figuring out the rest of the year and when that’s gonna happen, starting a new job, what we’re excited about, potentially relocating for work, trauma-learning German, Berlin as the Brooklyn of Europe, 30 year gentrification cycles, golden visas, Botswana as the next Portugal, stable government, MAGA grandmas, refusing a presidential pardons, the New Mexico of Africa, Pluribus Season Two,, Severance, Kara Swisher, Don Lemon, Vince Gilligan, the high floor at Apple TV, The Last Frontier, losing empathy for characters, Walking Dead and character reversal, The Wire, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Perfidia Beverly Hills, watching three hour movies with teenagers, no Pacino in the Casino, “The Offer” on Paramount+, Ernest Lupinacci, Mike Figgis, Megadoc, The Criterion Collection, not having seen Blow Up or Blow Out, surgery as time out from the universe, and Hip Replacement for the win.
The group was Joel Linkewer, Randy Paul, Toni Mayo, Kelsey DeMarco, Eric Korsh, Nick Bodor, Lauren Slowik, Marissa Dubin, Lori Hamilton, Nick Cogan and me.
We do this every Weds starting at 8:30a at Le Crocodile Restaurant in the Wythe Hotel and it’s illuminating every time. Come hang sometime. Or barring that, check out Breakfast Club International on LinkedIn here for a gathering nearer to you. https://lnkd.in/eHAWrG6n
And of course there’s the Breakfast Clubbing newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/eZi3f42n
Breakfast Club CDMX Report 1.7.26
Per Steve’s WhatsApp: “CDMX back at it y’all”
Breakfast Club DTBK Report 1.8.26
Per Kat’s WhatsApp Message: “Stellar first day back for our Downtown Brooklyn crew!”
Breakfast Club Cincy Report 1.8.26
As per The Rare Beast’s post: We talked about masks, democracy, banana republics, whether One Battle After Another is a comedy, Jessie Buckley’s magnificence, renovations, affordability, all the gold, socially engaged art, Theaster Gates, Detroit, targeting, Swell Cafe, cheese, tequila, and oligarchy.
Jeff Kobberdahl, Art Hasinski, Theo Erasmus, Nick Decker, Tony Bartish, Jason Zwolinski, Emmit Jones, Ben Dietz, Boris and Tina.
Breakfast Club Seattle Report 1.8.26
Per David’s post: Breakfast Club - Seattle. 1 year in the books. Thank you all who have come to have breakfast with us. And for the great conversation. In real life for the win! hashtag#BreakfastClubSeattle Ben Dietz Mike Burlin Robin Burrowes
Breakfast Club Las Vegas (CES special)
Per Anita’s WhatsApp: “Despite venue change we had a wonderful turnout and hang at CES in Vegas. Thanks to my glorious cohost Steph Balzer for making it happen!
Breakfast Club Biarritz Report 9.1.26
Per Maggie’s post: Lovely seeing everyone for our inaugural Breakfast Club of 2026! Thanks for braving the epic storm for a leisurely morning of cozy vibes and warm hospitality at Spok Biarritz.
Great to see a few familiar faces like Madeline Marchel Marc-Alexandre Ducoté Kachina Dimmock Raphaël Renzulli and a few newcomers like Marco Pasvoss Rachael Clark Seb (Knox-)Agertoft Janina Luetkemeyer Joanes Andueza and several others not on LinkedIn.
So many topics covered to open the new year, spanning new treks on Backroads, the inspiration for local artists to design furniture using materials from the Basque region, the inspiration and creative direction behind Haize guides for cycling and hiking, the founding story of Hobo Candles, the future direction of digital product design, and how people are navigating new openings for expansion and rethinking connection in 2026 as global affairs evolve. Tactile community is more important than ever.
Join us for the next gathering: 6th February 2026 from 9-10:00am (every First Friday) at Spok Café Biarritz, or head to Ben Dietz's Substack to find a Breakfast Club near you: https://lnkd.in/exjSwBvQ.
No agenda, no pitching, everyone's invited, especially you 🫵
Until next month, friends. Have a delicious month ✨
Breakfast Club Takes Place Around the World:
Weekly:
Portland, OR [Tuesday]
Mexico City [Wednesday]
Williamsburg Brooklyn [Wednesday]
Miami [Wednesday]
The Hamptons [Wednesday]
San Francisco [Wednesday]
Downtown Brooklyn [Thursdays]
Manhattan [Thursdays] - ON HIATUS
SOMa, NJ [Fridays] Bi-Weekly:
Washington, DC [Thursdays]
Copenhagen [Thursdays]
Amsterdam [Fridays]Monthly:
Barcelona [First Wednesdays]
Kingston NY [First Wednesdays]
London[First Thursday]
Biarritz [First Friday]
Burlington, VT [Second Mondays]
Seattle [Second Thursdays]
LA (West) [Third Fridays]
Toronto [Last Wednesdays]
Vegas [Last Thursdays]
Melbourne [Fridays]
Sydney [Fridays]
Los Angeles (East Side)
Hudson, NY
Boulder
Vienna
Paris
Milan
Lugano
Portland, Maine
Philadelphia
Boston
Cambridge MA
Panama City
Denver
Brighton
Singapore
Bassano del Grappa
Atlanta
Berlin
Ibiza
Montreal
Surf Coast (Torquay)
Dubai
Roma 
Love how this captures the energy of decentralized community building at scale. The transition from Brooklyn to Chiang Mai shows how culture transcends geography when the format is strong enough. I tried organizing something similarin my city but never nailed the 'no agenda' rule the way this does. Brittany's nervousness about hosting is so relatable it takes guts to hold space for strangers, especially when there's no transactional hook.
Do you have a gathering in Boston? Trying to help my god son to join!