Apiary Social Club Fosters a Community of Connections
Every minute detail of the Apiary Social Club—the Club’s name that speaks to its vibe, a growing repertoire of events and community groups, a state-of-the-art HVAC system that produces clear air in the cigar lounge, and an inviting terrace with private cabanas and firepits—has been intentionally curated to create “mini-vacations” for members in a sophisticated and relaxed lifestyle facility.
The exclusive space in the Heartland Preserve area of 144th and Dodge has already built a community of more than 300 members in less than a year, with a focus on relaxing and socializing, networking, entertainment, and significant conversations. “With all the noise in the digital world today, you can come to Apiary and have a mini-vacation,” said founding partner Tony Goins. “What we say here is ‘relationships matter.’ You won’t hear TVs blaring when you walk in. If someone isn’t working alone, they’re engaged in conversation. You don’t see anybody at the bar on their phone, and that matters to us. People meet new people because it’s a community. Regardless of your political or religious affiliation, when people spend time together, they find out they have more in common than they do apart. And that’s the true essence of relationships. That’s what happens here.”
Paul West, Apiary’s co-founding partner, had experienced a successful cigar lounge in Lincoln, Nebraska, that was co-founded by Goins a year prior to becoming the state of Nebraska’s head of economic development. West thought Omaha was ripe to embrace a similar concept. He noted that Apiary—the term for a collection of beehives—speaks to the ambiance being created by the Club’s unique environment of quality, luxury, learning, and excellence.
“We want this place to be full of energy, buzzing, people connecting, building community, hence the Apiary name and the bee logo,” said West, also a managing partner of Carson Wealth located just blocks from the Club. “I traveled all around the U.S. with business and spent time in social clubs and lounges, but Omaha didn’t have anything like this. You feel an energy in here of people wanting to connect. While there is an investment entry point to become a member, we want it to be the most inclusive place in terms of communicating and building relationships. Some people have the opinion that clubs are stuffy. But that’s the polar opposite of what we want and why many members have joined here. We want it to be welcoming and inviting, and that’s the vibe we’re creating.”
Months of strategic thinking and ultra-intentional design of the Club’s core concepts produced a unique structure with a 2,500-square foot, full-service cocktail lounge and equally large cigar lounge and humidor, which are separated by a double-door, positive/negative airflow system that keeps members from getting even a hint of cigar aroma in the community lounge side. “Travel around the world, and you do not see this model—a full cocktail lounge with world-class, high-end, beautiful classic cocktails with no smoke,” said Goins, currently the Global Head of Enterprise Risk Management for Fiserv. “And if you’d like to enjoy a cigar, you simply step into the adjacent lounge. That’s the importance of thinking about our members and understanding how they like to enjoy their time here.”
Much thought and applied engineering also went into designing the cigar lounge, which on a typical day or evening is sprinkled with members having business meetings over a favorite stogie or “choosing their own adventure” as West described it with another full-service cocktail lounge and comfortable conversation pods. The HVAC system pushes smoke outside and infuses fresh air in its place. “The number one complaint people have about a cigar lounge isn’t the smell, it’s the smoke,” said West, who announced that Apiary will soon launch its own special-blend, limited-production cigar line created by a sixth-generation family factory in Nicaragua. “We often hear, ‘I can smell it, but I don’t feel like I need to take a shower when I get home.’”
Other accoutrements that give Apiary an unshared, proprietary flair include Archetype coffee for daily 10 am openings, quarterly circulations of purchasable artwork from a local artist, geofencing technology and a mobile app that allows members to manage high-touch service and control entry for them and their guests, a fully-AV-equipped conference room for virtual or in-person meetings, individual restrooms stocked with personal toiletry and hygiene items, and a large heated terrace that overlooks a wide-open city and prairie view. “It’s easy to lose track of time out there,” said West, noting that the terrace faces the projected Heartland Preserve amphitheater that will host live concerts. “It’s amazing how people have real conversations around fire pits, and they just lose track of time and soak it all in.”
On top of it all, perhaps one of the biggest attraction points for Apiary is its exclusive social gatherings, educational seminars, and ever-expanding community groups. Members enjoy scheduled gatherings such as a Whiskey of the Month Club, live music, and networking opportunities in groups for real estate and financial service professionals, female CEOs, or people who want to connect over a game like Mahjong.
The pinnacle gatherings at Apiary have become its every-other-month “Infinite Stage” events that feature community, business, and philanthropic leaders recounting their rise to success and their ongoing quest to make a difference in their spheres of influence. The Infinite Stage has welcomed such guest presenters as Omaha Storm Chasers and Union Omaha owner Gary Green, Lisa Roskens of Burlington Capital Group, Trevon Brooks of the Omaha Innovation Connection Hub, Omaha Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Heath Mello, and Omaha Community Foundation president and CEO Donna Kush. “We want our members to think infinitely about life,” West said. “We think about it from a business, community, and philanthropic perspective. We want people to realize they have great opportunities to influence their families, their business, and Omaha, Nebraska. Beautiful stories are told on that stage.”
West added that Apiary’s unparalleled touches come together to fashion exceptional experiences for members and their guests. “As people enjoy their mini-vacations here, they’re actually talking or relaxing and they’re not worried about what time it is or what’s happening in the world,” he said. “They’re enjoying the company and having real conversations. People have had experiences here that are game-changers. Either they met a prospective business relationship, they made a new friend, or they experienced what I call ‘return on psyche.’ They come here and they feel good when they’re going home or going to the theater or whatever they’re doing. We want to help people create ‘memory moments’—the kind that happen when we’re not glued to a screen or trying to impress anyone. There is no need to show off. We have people in all different kinds of economic, physical, emotional, and business stages here, and that’s great because we can all help each other.”
