Vol. 27, No. 27
January 25-31, 2013$2.00
Merchants Exchange Club
rejuvenates as event mecca
BY RENÉE FROJO
San Francisco Business Times
F
PAOLO VESCIA
or de cade s, t he Mercha nt s
Exchange Club — a private gentlemen’s club housed in the basement
of the historic 465 California St.
building — was the go-to meeting place
for the upper echelon of the city’s booming financial industry.
During the club’s heyday, momentous
deals were made, significant partnerships were formed and important people
were pampered.
“Every leading investment man in the
city was there, dressed to the nines and
working on three-martini lunches,” said
John Duggan, co-owner of Original Joe’s,
a finance professional who in 1964 frequented the club. “All the bigshots of the
financial industry held their offices there.”
But like many of the gentlemen’s clubs
of its time, the Merchants Exchange Club
eventually fell out of favor. In 1997, the
club finally went dark, ending a nearly
100-year run — until now.
Next month, the storied club is coming back to life — reincarnated as the
city’s next big event venue. With 5,000
square feet of flexible event space, the
renovated Merchants Exchange Club will
serve to capture the overflow from its
sister venue, the Julia Morgan Ballroom,
that’s bursting at the seams, and add a
new dimension to the hospitality arm
of Clinton Reilly Holdings, which also
includes One Leidesdorf and Credo res-
taurant.
Phil Spiegel, director of hospitality for
Merchant Exchange Productions, said the
club’s $1.5 million makeover unveiled two
levels of meeting space that can fit up to
600 guests standing, 370 people seated, a
full-scale catering kitchen and a bar.
With several dozen events booked
through next December, including parties for the Guardsmen, University of
California San Francisco and Wells Fargo,
and inquiries pouring in everyday, the
club already is riding off its legacy.
The Guardsmen is holding a 200-person
event for its annual graduation for active
members. “The club has a great history in
San Francisco, and we wanted to hold our
event there because it fused well with our
history,” said organizer Eli Zoback.
It’s also proving to be a valuable addition to the growing Merchants Exchange
events business.
While many other event spaces have
struggled to grow business through the
tough economy, the fully integrated hospitality branch of the 465 California St. building, which now operates as Merchants
Exchange Products, has taken off.
The Julia Morgan Ballroom alone,
which sits on the 15th floor of the
Merchants Exchange Building, has
become one of the most sought-after
event spaces in the city.
Since 2009, the ballroom has increased
revenue by 500 percent, and now puts on
up to 350 events per year. Business has
been so good that the venue did the same
Phil Spiegel oversees a $1.5 million makeover to open space for up to 600 guests.
volume in December as in all of 2009.
The status of the club’s guests has also
improved, as last year the ballroom hosted President Barack Obama and Nobel
Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi.
“Our events business is blowing up,”
said Phil Spiegel, director of hospitality for
Merchant Exchange Productions. “People
want to be here. We’ve gotten to a point
where we’ve had to turn people down.”
Renovations uncovered three historic
murals depicting three centuries of San
Francisco history by Spanish artist Jose
Moya del Pino, which were commissioned
by the Merchants Exchange Club in 1933.
When it all finally comes together next
month, the additional space “will allow
us to be truly hospitable,” said Spiegel.
Duggan, like many of his peers who
have fond memories of the club, agreed
and is anxiously awaiting its return.
“It’s going to be spectacular,” he said.
[email protected] / (415) 288-4963 n