Gabe Dobelt was born in South Africa, raised in London, worked in New York and became the ultimate power broker in Los Angeles – first as a manager at Jeff Klein’s Sunset Tower, then as director of global membership at the San Vicente clubs. She began her career as an assistant to legendary media expert Tina Brown in Tatler in 1979. She then made her way to New York and eventually moved between coasts as a magazine editor Vogue magazine, W, Mademoiselle and The daily monsterHe finally left the media in 2014 to work in the hospitality field.
She returned to Manhattan last year to oversee the launch of SVC’s West Village location, in the former Jane Hotel. It was supposed to be an eight-month party. “Within a week of landing in New York, which by the way was in the middle of a blizzard, I realized there was no way back,” Doppelt explains.
It’s a good thing she settled down so quickly because the task facing Klein and his crew requires full focus: San Vicente West Village opened last March in a red brick building built in 1908, after an extensive overhaul. The club, run by designer Rose Onyaki, includes a restaurant (with head chef Nicholas Ugliarulo), a drawing room, a sushi room, a disco, a billiards room, a screening room and nine well-appointed rooms and suites. To say the opening was warmly embraced is an understatement. New York Times She stated that she was “welcomed with a sense of urgency that is second only to the future of democracy.”
“Opening a club in New York is very stressful because New Yorkers definitely tell you when they’re not happy. They’re a little more tolerant in L.A.,” Doppelt says. “Any new property has the same problems; things you think will go well don’t go well, and things you think will be a bad show are always perfect. That’s the nature of the beast in any business.”
The first three months were a blur. She landed in New York, and the next night, the club opened exclusively for an afterparty for SNL50: The Homecoming Concert, a star-studded celebration attended by Lady Gaga, Cher, Jason Momoa, Anya Taylor-Joy, Donna Langley, Brian Lourd, and Lorne Michaels. “We hit the ground running,” Doppelt recalls. “The next night we hosted a power party for existing members and friends so people could see the club even though it wasn’t complete. Then we went dark for a month to finish all the aesthetics. We opened in March and it took three months to find our rhythm.”
A year later, the western village of San Vicente is in its groove. As global membership manager, Doppelt organizes the people who join and borrows a quote from its boss to explain how new members are selected. “We are slow farmers,” she says. “It is very easy to be greedy, and we can accept whoever applies, and we will succeed. I don’t know about that, but we will be rich.” “Success isn’t measured by wealth. There’s a great quote by Jeff that says, ‘Just because you’re rich, that makes you interesting?’ We don’t care about that. For us, power isn’t money, and that’s the last thing we’re looking for.”
Her old editorial articles also began to appear. Its cheerful ‘near-monthly’ in-house newsletter has been a hit with members, and may be worth the price of admission. (Initiation fees range from $3,000 to $15,000, with annual fees ranging from $1,800 to $4,200.) In her “From The Directrice” notes, she updates insiders on the club’s activities back and forth — literally: “A member who was let go because he shouted at a high-profile VIP too often in the news now, ‘Hey XX, is that really you?’” one reads. “We pride ourselves on respecting each member’s privacy, so there are no second chances here. Goodbye.”
Doppelt’s candid speeches were inspired by New York restaurateur Keith McNally, who posts his nightly reports to much fanfare on Instagram. “It’s really funny and very honest,” she praised. “He really invites people out and doesn’t edit.”
The Doppelt’s started out as personal notes but she got tired of writing about herself and noticed how the members liked to gossip over each other. So, I started doing that too. Her epic Valentine’s Day rant had me rocking for weeks. “To the two members who, on multiple occasions, have found their way to the upstairs bathroom between courses for an ‘amusement’, the literal translation being ‘mouth-watering’… We know who you are. … Please note that we do have rooms, and as members, you receive a discounted member rate, so please check with the front desk if you feel the need to indulge in extracurricular activities while at the club.” Overzealous members did not lose their memberships, as Doppelt preferred discipline with suspensions or warnings.
Thanks to Doppelt’s methods and long-standing relationships, SVC became one of, if not the, most popular private clubs in New York. It’s already got Dobelt and Klein thinking about what’s next: “Of course we’re very hungry to do something else.”
But where? First, Dobelt has extended her stay in New York for at least another year and then she won’t say so. “We love New York. We love Europe. Maybe London, maybe Paris. We don’t know. We love buildings. So, wherever we find the next shabby old lady.”
This story appeared in the May 6 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
