The Gathering Spot Is Making Its Mark On Atlanta

A new meeting place for the city’s movers and shakers

The Gathering Spot opened in early 2016 and it has quickly become one of Atlanta’s hottest meeting places for the metro area’s up-and-coming business and political leaders. Celebrities such as former Ambassador Andrew Young Jr., actor/rapper Ludacris, filmmakers Will Packer and John Singleton and the Atlanta Hawks have attended events at the Midtown facility.

The prestigious establishment is a private, members-only business and social club, catered toward young professionals and entrepreneurs that would like a more modern and non-traditional work atmosphere.

The Gathering Spot is not your traditional country club. This place features a full-service restaurant and bar, 24/7 access to events, concierge services, state-of-the-art technology and conference rooms. The Gathering Spot also hosts baby showers, birthday celebrations, panel discussions, and corporate and social events.

CEO and co-founders Ryan Wilson and his businesses partner, TK Peterson are the two Georgetown graduates behind the creation of this one-of-a-kind establishment. As roommates, the pair discussed plans of opening The Gathering Spot for a few years before they eventually secured $3 million as capital.

The Atlanta Voice DTU Fellows Kelsey Jones and Jordan Fisher, spoke with Wilson about the clubs amenities, advice to upcoming entrepreneurs, and future expansion for The Gathering Spot.

KJ: What exactly is The Gathering Spot and where did that name come from?

RW: The Gathering Spot is an invitation only private membership club. The easiest way to think about the business is it’s kind of like a country club without the golf. Our workspace is open 24 hours a day, our members can use it. It has a lot of different work environments. You can work in a conference room, our work spaces, and the small private offices. The second part of the space is our restaurant and bar. So, we’re open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but you have to be a member to dine in the restaurant. The last part of the club is our event space where we host several different events.

RW: As far as the name, when i was thinking about this project with my college roommate, we had a hard time thinking of a name. Kind of thinking about the name we would call it, The Spot. So over time that name stuck and then we decided to add “Gathering” in at some point.

KJ: You said there’s a restaurant and workspace in here, have you thought about adding a spa?

RW: We get that question a lot. We thought about it and still thinking about it. What I can tell you is that there will be different versions of the club moving forward and probably add some additional amenities.

JF: What would you say has been the hardest part about keeping The Gathering Spot relevant?

RW: With every new month we curate a whole new slate of events. We don’t repeat events, EVER. When you see us roll out a new calendar, it’s a brand new set of ideas. That’s a tough process. Our team works really really hard at thinking about how is July better than June and how August is going to be better than July.

KJ: Are you looking to expand The Gathering Spot to a new city or do you want it to be exclusively here in Atlanta?

RW: We love Atlanta but we’re definitely going to go to a different market. I spend a good amount of time on the road figuring out where that new market will be. We have plans for expansion.

KJ: What was the reason behind the decision to make The Gathering Spot invite-only?

RW: We are really intentional about the membership community here. We literally know everybody. We can go in the restaurant now and I’ll know every single member. That for us is really, really important. The invite only motto is really an opportunity for our current members of the club to invite people that they think will be good additions. The club, at this point, isn’t looking for a ton of people to join us as members. We’re looking for good people. The right people.

JF: What is one thing that someone interested in starting a business should know?

RW: Don’t limit yourself. In order to have a big idea, you really have to think big. I think a lot of time entrepreneurs, we think about the smallest version of our idea, but don’t necessarily fight for the way we actually dreamed about it. Before you get into anything, be resolute and the model you want to create, don’t deviate from that core vision. Of course, I can go on and on……

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