Rich, gay men who read this newsletter: listen up.
I have a business opportunity for you.
First of all, free letter today. Today’s newsletter includes: the magazine that could no longer afford a subscription to Puck, the Los Angeles smoothie chain opening six blocks north of Happier Grocery, a mysterious A24 job listing, and a new interview series on The Cut.
Second of all, I need the rich gay men (out or closeted) who read this letter to listen up, because I have the deal of a lifetime for you.
The Belvedere Guest House for Men — a 33-room, kitschy Venetian hotel in Fire Island — is hitting the market for $11mm. The hotel’s About page gets straight to the point about the property’s architecture, name-checking features like “terraces, towers, domes, statuary, antiques and fountains.” What more could you want.
A 1996 story in The New York Times about Fire Island describes the hotel as, “a cross between 'a Venetian villa overlooking the Grand Canal and the faux decoration of a Disneyland castle.”
Michael Bullock wrote about the hotel for a 2017 issue of Apartamento, and described it as, “baroque beacon of light, a sprawling, shimmering palace that is so wonderfully out of place that for a moment you’re certain it must be a mirage.” Wolfgang Tillmans photographed the story.
The sale follows a wave of major hospitality turnover across Fire Island. In recent years, the Pavilion nightclub and much of the Pines’ commercial strip were scooped up by Tryst Hospitality, and Florida firm Bowline Hospitality bought the Ice Palace resort for $7.2mm. If you’re new to the gay scene on Fire Island, which is about two hours from New York City, I suggest reading Brock Colyar’s 12 Hours on the Hunt for Daddies in Fire Island.
Some questions you may be asking yourself as you prepare to call your wealth advisor to tell them you’re buying a gay resort:
Is the property clothing optional? Yes. Per the site, “The only exception is when we have wine & cheese or our annual BBQ’s in the grand salon and on the back deck. We do ask guests to wear clothes for these occasions.”
Is there a souvenir store? I am bullish on the merch possibilities for The Belvedere. They seem to already have a good design strategy, but imagine what the streets of New York would look like if they set up a Shopify account.
Room service? The only food they serve is, “pastries and granola bars” but again, as a businesswoman I see this as an opportunity.
And how are the reviews? Mixed, but overall remarkably solid:
“Great location. Beautiful men. Nice rooms. No women. Perfect.” See, that’s a t-shirt opportunity.
“The pool and hot tub were great. There was naked yoga in the morning which looked awesome.”
“Our bathroom was large enough for an anorexic ballet dancer.” Creative writing!
“I have stayed at the Belvedere many times and I go there as a treat, I always meet such nice people and feel and made to feel comfortable in my own skin…”
“Stayed at the Belvedere guest house for a long weekend in August. The hotel has a very romantic and nostalgic feel. It was almost as if ghosts of gay men from previous generations were following me around and reminding me of how far we’ve come as a community. Staff is friendly and helpful. There is a playful and sexy feel to the Belvedere. As a matter fact, a group of hot dudes were filming a porn movie near the pool when I was there. 5 stars 😘🏳️🌈”
According to The Real Deal, Fire Island welcomes more than 100,000 visitors every summer. Now imagine if we got this deal on the radar of the Palm Heights team…
As we approach summer, the superyacht industry is facing a staffing crisis. Last summer, I started covering yachts a lot in this letter. Not because of personal interest or clickbait, but because there are indeed more superyachts — that is, vessels over 30 meters (100 feet) — at sea than ever before. Almost 6,000 to be exact, according to Bloomberg. “The total has quadrupled in the past three decades.” With that growth, comes an increased demand for staffing. This week, WSJ published a story about the rapid hiring – and firing – of crews for these yachts. One Miami-based superyacht owner said that he’s already let go over 50 people (who probably were influenced by Bravo’s Below Deck to apply to the job) this year. As John Caudwell, the British billionaire who owns the 240-foot Titania, told WSJ, “It only takes one crew member to spoil an $800,000 holiday.”
Variety cancelled their Puck subscription to cut costs. Not a great look for either media brand. Whoever leaked that to Breaker did it as an insult.
My favorite part of the Los Angeles smoothie chain Sunlife Organics is that they have a $30 smoothie. Runner-up: the decor looks like it was designed by someone who microdoses shrooms. They’re opening in New York next week, six blocks north of Happier Grocery.
A partner at A24 posted a mysterious job listing this week. Scott Belsky, an investor, entrepreneur, and partner at “indie” film darling A24, is hiring an “engineering and technical exploration team.” I texted a Hollywood friend last night to see if he had any guesses on what Belsky might be working on. “My guess is they’re putting together a lean tech team to build out a suite of AI tools to help their filmmakers. You lower the structural cost of making movies and you expand the universe of makeable films, especially original ones.”
I’m shocked that it’s taken 4Chan, the website known for being ‘the cesspool of the Internet’, this long to get hacked. I would expect their main worry to have always been getting hacked, given how its users thrive on anonymity, which protects them, and allows them to post content that wouldn’t be hosted anywhere else.
15 years after LVMH tried to buy Hermès, Hermès has officially surpassed its rival in market value. Which is almost €249B..
New York Magazine launched a new interview series this week called Happy Hour. “60 minutes with your faves, doing what makes them happiest.”
Potential product placement tip from a reader: “There must be a tie-in between the $3,000 bottle of Macallan and the new show Friends and Neighbors. In the first two episodes, the ‘25; is being served all over the place. I've never had the 25, never been offered it. I'd be embarrassed to drink it!”
I like these loyalty cards that Brooklyn bakery Welcome Home made. It’s like a members club… but the members actually eat.
Last night, I spent 48 minutes watching a video about Emma Klipstein’s split from her Unhinged podcast co-host. This story mirrors the breakups of Call Her Daddy’s Alex Cooper and Sofia Franklyn, and Barstool’s Grace O’Malley and Brianna LaPaglia of Plan Bri. On the surface, these stories of falling-outs between women who once bonded over sex, friendship, and partying can seem like influencer fluff. But beneath the drama is a business story that I’m interested in. Podcasts that begin as these intimate side/art projects between friends now generate serious money: Instagram accounts with six-figure followings, RSS feeds with built-in audiences (that come with you even if you change the name of the show), comment sections that double as engaged communities. In the video, Emma is talking about multi-thousand dollar deals that were coming through. And then, when the friendship dissolves, there’s no playbook for who keeps the brand, the fans, or the ad deals. It’s not just a breakup—it turns into a mini media business divorce.
Sam Altman has repeatedly clapped back at Musk and Zuckerberg on social media, claiming he might build his own social media platform. Or even buy X. Now, “OpenAI is in the early stages of building its own X-like social network, focused on ChatGPT image generation.”
A new boutique hotel and restaurant in Miami are named after Donatella Versace.
A British real estate heir bought a $12mm historic cottage overlooking East Hampton’s Maidstone Club. And then he tore it down. Per the New York Post, one day the neighbors (including Jets co-owner Woody Johnson) woke up, and the house was gone! The house was never publicly listed, and the deal closed last fall.
“Great location. Beautiful men. Nice rooms. No women. Perfect.” -Augusta National Golf Club pre-2009
My wife works in the spirits industry and can confirm that the Macallan placement is highly likely. Look at shows like Emily in Paris for more aggressive examples of this: Lillet!