Doubles, the chic private club in the Sherry-Netherland Hotel, is the gold standard for dining, dancing, and good times among the smart set. The club was founded in 1974 by Joe Norban and a house committee that included Pat Buckley, Nan Kempner, Earl Blackwell, and Pat Patterson. Norban’s daughter, Wendy Carduner, took over in 1982.
The membership, a virtual who’s who of New York society, has a tradition of mingling generations on festive occasions and hosting parties that cater exclusively to the club’s junior and associate committees.
“What I believe makes the club interesting and has added to its longevity are the toddlers who become teenagers, who then become twentysomethings, and on and on,” says Carduner. “They continue to use the club as their home away from home—it’s generational.”
On holidays it’s not unusual to see the likes of Tara Rockefeller, Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos, or Alexia Hamm Ryan nibbling mini burgers with their little ones while proud grandparents—many of whom are original members— encourage the kids to do the limbo, have their first dance, hunt Easter eggs, or meet Santa Claus (depending on the occasion).
This spring marks the 33rd anniversary of Doubles, solidifying its position as a festive oasis in the city that never sleeps. Its sexy new bar and dazzling rouge dining room boast some of the best food in the city courtesy of executive chef Steven Mellina, whose buffet lunches present a seemingly endless supply of organic and tasty options.
The glamorous new décor, completed last fall by Thomas Britt and Valentino Samsonadze, carries on the legendary nightlife traditions exemplified by the Stork Club and El Morocco from the 1930s through the 1960s. Rockefellers, Roosevelts, and Hearsts regularly descended the club’s red staircase, as have the likes of Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, Candice Bergen, Robert De Niro, Katie Couric, and Kirk Douglas. How civilized.
