Gary Vaynerchuk to Open World's First NFT Restaurant in NYC

NFTs have been exciting (and baffling) the world since they went mainstream in 2021; artist Beeple sold one of his pieces for $69 million at Christie’s, and household names like Jack Dorsey and Martha Stewart have also gotten in on the action, putting their own NFTs up for sale. Now, for the first time, an NFT restaurant will open in NYC, Grub Street reports. 

Serial entrepreneur and internet personality Gary Vaynerchuk, also known as Gary Vee, and his hospitality company VCR Group have announced they will open the world’s first so-called “NFT restaurant” in New York City. Dubbed Flyfish Club, the members-only restaurant will require diners to pay for their membership with crypto, though the food itself can be purchased with fiat currency. 

When Flyfish Club released 1,151 tokens on Jan. 7, the standard membership, which comes with access to a lounge and high-end seafood restaurant, was selling for 2.5 ETH (approximately $7,900). An omakase membership, which includes access to reservations at a 14-seat omakase room where a yet-to-be-named master sushi chef will serve fresh fish from Japan, was selling for 4.25 ETH (approximately $13,485). 

At this point, memberships are only available on secondary markets like OpenSea, where the floor price for a standard membership is currently 4.98 ETH, which comes out to just over $12,000. Members will also have the option to lease their token to a non-token holder on a monthly basis. 

“Our NFTs allow you to actually own your membership, so it changes a membership into an asset, which you can sell, you can use, you can transfer, you could gift or you could lease if you’re not in town and won’t be available to use it over the time period,” co-founder and chief executive officer David Rodolitz told Fox Business. According to Rodolitz, the “very ambitious project” is expected to open in 2023. 

Per Flyfish Club’s site, the restaurant and its outdoor space will span more than 10,000 square feet in “an iconic New York City location” that has yet to be determined.